C&D Recycling

HAULERS, RECYCLERS EYE C&D RECYCLING

A session titled “Bringing C&D Recycling Into Your Business,” held during Waste Expo last month in Las Vegas, was well attended by both haulers and recyclers interested in recycling construction and demolition debris. Moderated by William Turley, editor of C&D Debris Recycling, the session featured Anthony DePasquale of Harborfront Recycling Inc., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and Tom Roberts of Atlas Environmental Inc., Plantation, Fla., who each shared their experiences recycling C&D debris. Interest in the topic was clearly in evidence as the attendees asked question after question about C&D recycling costs and program feasibility, causing the session to run considerably longer than planned.

Companies looking to get involved in C&D debris recycling should take into account regional factors such as local tipping fees, population, building permits required and type of homes in the areas, local and state regulations, capital and operating costs and available markets for the end products, according to Roberts.

DePasquale also stressed the need to process C&D debris into a form easily marketed in a given region, and advised companies to “go into C&D debris recycling with your eyes open. It requires a great deal of commitment, patience and financial resources, although it can be very profitable.”

C&D RECYCLING IMPROVES BOTTOM LINE

Several contractors in King County, Wash., are achieving cost savings through job-site recycling of construction and demolition debris. The King County Solid Waste Division has a Construction, Demolition and Land Clearing Program that helps Washington state contractors develop waste management plans taking into account on-site recycling and waste prevention.

Sellen Construction saved 65 percent on its disposal costs on a recent tenant improvement project at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash. The company recycled 70 percent of the materials coming off the job site. In addition to metals, gypsum, wood and cardboard, approximately 104 tons of ceiling tiles were recycled and carpet padding was salvaged for reuse.

In addition, another firm, Turner Construction, saved more than $1,300 by recycling 38 tons – 52 percent – of the material generated from a 37,000-square-foot concrete tilt-up.

The new Metropolitan King County Regional Justice Center  in Kent, Wash., is another success story. During the demolition phase, 28 buildings were removed from the site. The contractor was able to achieve a 95 percent recycling rate. About 28,640 tons of concrete and 3,200 tons of asphalt were crushed on site and reused as base material. The new construction phase of the project saved about $10,000 by recycling 64 percent of job site materials.