C&D News

Members of the National Association of Demolition Contractors (NADC), Doylestown, Pa., are hoping to continue benefiting from federal government programs that will encourage the redevelopment of blighted industrial areas known as brownfields sites.

The NADC exhibited at the Brownfields 2003 Conference, which was held in late October in Portland, Ore.

"When President George Bush signed the brownfields legislation, he helped generate a substantial amount of work for the demolition industry," notes NADC Executive Director Michael Taylor. He notes that many NADC member companies include divisions or subsidiaries specializing in environmental reme-diation.

"Because of a growing demand, many demolition contractors have expanded their skill areas into services that may include hazardous waste management, asbestos abatement, building decontamination, PCB removal, mold remediation, industrial cleaning and groundwater and soil remediation," states Taylor.

In the past decade, according to an NADC news release, the U.S. EPA has provided more than $250 million in brownfields funding to state and local governments, helping spur some $4.6 billion worth of clean-up and economic redevelopment activity.

Brownfield sites are those considered abandoned or under-used and often contaminated though not to the point that they qualify for Superfund cleanup efforts.

The NADC is a trade group representing the $3.5 billion demolition industry in North America. The group’s 31st Annual Convention will be held at The Mirage Hotel and Casino from March 28 to 31, 2004.

The Institution Recycling Network (IRN), Concord, N.H., is helping a prep school in New England reach for a 75 percent scrap materials recycling goal as it builds a new athletic center.

The IRN has contracted with St. Paul’s School, Concord, N.H., to help it recycle scrap materials generated from the construction project. St. Paul’s expects to achieve a recycling rate of at least 75 percent of all scrap materials generated.

"Construction of the athletic center will produce more [scrap] than all the paper and cardboard and bottles and cans we throw away on campus in a whole year," says Paul Lachance of St. Paul’s. "If we’re committed to recycling, this is a place we have to start."

he remarks.

A news release from the IRN says it has access to markets for more than two dozen different recyclable construction materials, and oversees all aspects of employee training, separating materials for recycling, setting out and removing containers and marketing recyclable materials. "There’s hardly a single [scrap] material on this site that we won’t be recycling," says John Gundling, head of construction waste management for the IRN. "Our list of items to be recycled runs from the wood forms for the concrete foundation to copper trim from the roof, and almost literally everything in between."

St. Paul’s has expressed what Gundling says is a common criterion for construction site recycling: It should not add time or cost to the overall project budget. Gundling says the IRN addresses this concern by providing clear training to workers on the site, clearly labeling waste and recycling containers, and matching the containers on site to the specific tasks that are underway. "We ask employees to work a little bit smarter—not longer or harder," says Gundling. "And we’re typically able to demonstrate that recycling can save 20, 30 or 40 percent of the cost of simply throwing materials away. Those are the kind of numbers that inspire great cooperation from everyone on the site."

The St. Paul’s athletic center is one of the first projects in New Hampshire seeking recognition under the nationwide Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. LEED is a certification program of the U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, which recognizes efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of new and renovated buildings. Points toward LEED certification are awarded in such areas as energy reduction, use of renewable or locally produced building materials, and minimization of water use.

Construction materials recycling is one of the centerpieces of LEED certification, and St. Paul’s commitment to a 75 percent recycling rate ranks the school high in the LEED effort. The lead contractor on the project believes the goal is achievable, however.

"We initially thought that recycling in this range was beyond our capabilities," says Kathy Miskoe, project manager for the Gilbane Building Co., Nashua, N.H., which is the construction manager for the athletic center. "But the IRN demonstrated that we can not only achieve this rate and achieve LEED points for our client, but reduce waste costs as well. It’s clearly a winning situation for all parties involved."

 St. Paul’s School is a prep school on a 2,000-acre campus founded in 1856 and with roots in the Episcopal Church.

The Institution Recycling Network is a cooperative recycling organization that works with colleges and universities, hospitals, and other institutions to improve the performance and economics of their recycling programs. The group has worked with more than 100 institutions throughout New England, including Harvard University, Northeastern University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.