Construction and Demolition Waste Recovery and Reuse Pilot Gets Positive Results for Businesses

By Ben Zublin, BRING Recycling

Nationwide, construction and demolition waste accounts for about one-third of materials destined for landfill disposal. In addition to costing owners and contractors needlessly and straining the capacity of municipal waste-disposal systems, this category of “C+D” waste often includes a lot of reusable and reclaimable materials.

BRING is tackling the problem of C+D waste disposal with a pilot program designed to recover waste at its point of origin and find ways to reuse it. In much the same way that recyclables are diverted from regular refuse at the home and individual business level, waste materials generated during the deconstruction and new construction of buildings can be diverted at their source. This approach avoids the cost, time and trouble of disposing of C+D waste through traditional means.

Benefits of this approach include:

• Cost savings. Our staff divert materials from job sites at no expense to the contractor. This saves them money on the cost of disposal, and decreases the cost and energy required to sort the items at traditional material recovery facilities.
• Contractors benefit from our knowledgeable staff, becoming more informed about opportunities for salvaging and diverting reusable building materials.
• Tax credits. Salvaged materials may be tax-deductible when donated to a federally-recognized nonprofit organization.
• Certification points. We inventory and report to our partners volumes and weights of materials diverted for reuse, as well as the resultant carbon-equivalents and energy-offsets, potentially assisting with green building certification.
• We look for opportunities to highlight the diversion efforts of our partners, using electronic, print and social media platforms to showcase impressive waste reduction accomplishments.

Since BRING launched the C+D pilot earlier this year, we have worked with a number of construction projects in Eugene to divert reusable C+D materials from the waste stream. Here is a snapshot of the materials we have saved from the landfill:

• Over 5,000 pounds of reusable dimensional lumber
• Over 7,300 pounds of reusable plywood
• 700 pounds of steel roofing and finish material
• 150 cubic feet of polystyrene insulation
• Over 30,000 pounds of concrete aggregate material

Is your business interested in getting involved? Arrange for a no-cost consultation, where we will provide more details about how the C+D waste recovery and reuse pilot program works and how your company stands to benefit. Our knowledgeable staff will visit your site to assess the potential for salvaging deconstruction wastes and remnants from your project. We will help guide and educate your contractors and subs to maximize the efficiency of your waste and recycling disposal system. After that, we will help to source reclaimed and “charismatic” materials for your build-out following the vision and details of your design.

Contact us today for more details.