In the Loop

For several decades, those conducting solid waste audits have found that materials generated at construction and demolition sites (C&D materials) make up a considerable portion of the overall waste or scrap materials stream.

The amount of C&D materials has been so significant that a separate landfill sector was developed for them, initially causing them to be “out of sight and out of mind” for recycling and resource conservation advocates.

In the past two decades, however, a combination of market forces (high fuel costs and resource scarcity) and government landfill diversion mandates have caused the C&D recycling industry to be one of the fastest-growing recycling sectors.

Oct. 3-5 in downtown Baltimore, the Recycling Today Media Group is inviting the recycling industry to gather to hear of the latest developments in this sector at the C&D Recycling Forum (www.cdrecycler.com/forum).

Scrap recyclers are well aware of the metal stream generated at construction and demolition sites, while specialty sectors now have developed to recycle much of the concrete and wood generated at job sites.

The event in Baltimore offers a chance for scrap recyclers to network with the people who generate and sell this metals stream while also hearing how the C&D sector is host to several emerging recycling markets that could offer new opportunities.

Thanks in part to green building initiatives, property owners, developers and contractors are paying more attention to materials recycling than ever before—not just metals and concrete, but the paper and plastic generated at job sites and mixed materials sorting facilities as well.

Currently, the construction industry is in a slump, with several of its sectors recovering from a glut of over-building and new borrowing standards that have halted many proposed projects. There is little doubt, though, that as the industry returns to health, recyclers of all materials will find opportunities to tie into the green building mentality that has become standard operating procedure within the construction industry.

Correction: Recycling Today heard from two firms that should have ranked on our list of the 20 largest electronics recyclers in North America, which ran in the June issue. Global Environmental Services (www.gesrecycles.com), Georgetown, Ky., led by CEO Kenneth E. Gravitt, processed 65 million pounds of electronics in 2009. AERC Recycling Solutions (www.aercrecycling.com), based in Allentown, Pa., processed 19.4 million pounds of electronics in 2009 at its 10 North American locations. Peter Jegou serves as AERC Recycling’s CEO.