C&D News

The Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA) has sent a resolution to city officials in Los Angeles urging them to adopt an ordinance that would require all city departments to recycle at least 50 percent of construction and demolition debris.

The CMRA, a national association that promotes the recycling of C&D materials, also recommends the mayor and city council adopt an ordinance that would mandate a 50-percent C&D recycling rate on private construction and demolition projects.

"These types of ordinances are something we have seen all over the country," says James Taylor of Taylor Recycling, president of the CMRA. "For example, in Chicago the requirement is now 25 percent recycling on all construction and demolition projects, which will grow to 50 percent later in 2007." He adds that the greater Los Angeles area and most of Southern California have the recycling infrastructure to handle such requirements.

More information is available at www.cdrecycling.org.

A construction and demolition debris recycling facility has been opened in Lemon Grove, Calif., by SANCO Recovery Resources, part of the EDCO family of waste collection and recycling companies, according to a report from KGTV, San Diego.

The facility was partly funded by a $400,000 grant from San Diego County and can accept 1,000 tons of debris per day.

According to the report, the facility is mainly for large-scale construction and renovation projects, but also accepts loads brought in by individuals.

Waste Services Inc., Burlington, Ontario, Canada, has announced that it has acquired the SLD construction and demolition debris landfill in Charlotte County, Fla., and the Pro Disposal roll-off collection and transfer business, with operations in Florida’s Collier and Lee counties.

The landfill, which has a permitted capacity of 15.8 million cubic yards, began operations in December 2006. The company also has completed the previously announced amendment to its senior secured credit facility.

Waste Services Inc., a Delaware company, is a multi-regional integrated solid waste services company providing collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services in the United States and Canada.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Solid Waste and Air departments have issued conditional use permits to Ze-gen Inc., Boston, for the construction of a waste gasification demonstration facility that will operate for one year.

The demonstration facility is designed to process 500 tons of construction and demolition debris per month, producing synthetic natural gas, according to a news release from the company. Ze-gen first applied for permitting in March 2006. Construction of the facility is to begin immediately, and Ze-gen anticipates the facility will be operational and generating test data by late spring 2007.

Ze-gen was formed in mid-2004 to develop gasification systems that convert municipal solid waste (MSW) and C&D debris into clean energy.

World demand for flooring and carpet is expected to climb 4.1 percent per year through 2010 to 14.7 billion square meters, valued at $162 billion, according to a report from Cleveland-based market research firm the Freedonia group.

Flooring and carpet demand in developed parts of the world will climb, although the pace of increase will be less robust than in developing countries. Product sales in Western Europe will accelerate through 2010, and floor covering demand in Japan will exhibit renewed strength following an extended period of decline, according to the report. In the United States, flooring and carpet sales will be spurred by increases in nonresidential construction and motor vehicle production.

Demand for non-resilient flooring (ceramic, wood, laminate, etc.), which is the most popular type of floor covering worldwide, will outpace sales of resilient flooring (which includes vinyl, linoleum and rubber products), and carpet and rugs through 2010.

According to the Freedonia report, increases will be driven by the durability and ease of maintenance offered by non-resilient flooring and supported by growing consumer preference for high-end and natural hard surface flooring products as income levels climb.

Suppliers of carpets and rugs, the second most widely used type of floor covering, will benefit from a pickup in building expenditures in Western Europe, rising construction activity in other parts of the world and to a lesser extent, growth in global motor vehicles production.

The full study, "World Flooring & Carpets" is available for purchase at www.freedoniagroup.com.

Wisconsin’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Waste Materials Recovery and Disposal, which was formed by Gov. Jim Doyle in June 2005, has issued its recommendations in its final report, which was completed in December 2006.

The Task Force was assembled to study and make recommendations regarding the economics of landfilling and recycling solid waste in the state. Nineteen members representing communities, private sector business and other organizations across the state comprise the Task Force.

In its report, the Task Force identifies a number of materials the state should focus on when it comes to increasing recycling rates. The report highlights several strategies to boost the recovery of C&D material, which represents more than 28 percent of Wisconsin’s solid waste stream, including initiating market development and research on the recovery and reuse of C&D material and supporting the development of infrastructure for recycling and marketing C&D debris. The Task Force also recommends promoting the adoption of local ordinances to require C&D recycling as part of construction permitting processes, as well as instructing the state DOT to determine how shingles can safely be incorporated into road construction projects.

The full Task Force report can be accessed online at www.waste
resources.wi.gov.

Recycle Ann Arbor has announced that it now offers complete construction and demolition recycling services, following its acquisition of Calvert’s Rolloff Containers Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich.

Services offered include collection, transportation and processing of C&D debris from commercial, industrial and residential building projects, using a proprietary vehicle fleet and a 10,000-square-foot sorting and waste transfer facility in Ann Arbor.

Founded in 1950, Calvert’s Rolloff Containers has remained a locally owned business. Last year Calvert’s processed 20,000 tons of materials in its facility.

The majority of business revenue is generated through waste charges, with the remainder originating from sales of recyclables.

"The acquisition of a construction and demolition waste recycling facility and collection equipment is consistent with Recycle Ann Arbor’s mission and business plan and enables us to significantly expand our waste and recycling services to customers," says Melinda Uerling, Recycle Ann Arbor executive director. "We now offer the most comprehensive C&D resource recovery program to the Washtenaw County area."

Recycle Ann Arbor plans to expand the current business and services and to increase the percentage of materials that are recovered for recycling purposes, including metals, concrete, useable lumber and cardboard.

The collection of demolition material will also benefit Recycle Ann Arbor’s ReUse Center, by providing the retail operation with used building materials for resale. Construction and demolition recycling services offered include:

More information is available at www.recycleannarbor.org.

The UK-based Waste & Resources Action Programme has launched an Open Tender inviting bids to carry out a Life Cycle Assessment of Aggregates.

The purpose of the work is to develop a life cycle inventory and assessment for aggregates produced from primary and recycled resources in the U.K. The study will also compare processing options for aggregates in unbound applications, aggregates in concrete and aggregates in asphalt.

The resources to be assessed are:

The study will cover all aspects of extraction and processing of primary resources through to the point of their dispatch as aggregates. It should also investigate issues such as the excess production of fines where sales and production are out of balance. Washing processes that enable the further processing of fines and other aggregate sizes are to be considered for both primary and recycled resources, in addition to conventional screening and crushing.

The report will also assess the relative proximity of sources of primary aggregates and recycled aggregates to the market place and disposal options for inert construction and demolition debris.