Page 371 - Solid Waste Analysis and Minimization a Systems Approach

POTENTIAL TECHNOLOGIES AND STRATEGIES 349

■ Conduct regular site visits to verify that bins are not contaminated.
■ Provide feedback to the crew and subcontractors on the results of their efforts.

The choice of recovery methods will depend on many factors. These include the
quantity and type of construction and demolition debris, availability of space for
on-site recovery, existence of waste haulers and/or end users for off-site recovery, and
program costs. Construction and demolition debris recovery methods include reduc-
ing waste at the source, reuse of scrap materials, recycling materials, and use of recycled
content construction materials.
Source reduction is also a feasible strategy to reduce solid waste. A business can save
money by reducing the amount of waste it creates. Source reduction decreases disposal
costs, lowers labor costs due to a reduction in handling and cutting materials, and
reduces expenditures for materials because less is wasted. Ways to reduce waste are

■ Design—Ask your architect for building designs that use standard material sizes.
■ Plan—Plan ahead so that fewer supply runs need to be made to local suppliers.
■ Reduce packaging—Ask suppliers to remove packaging before shipping materials
to your site, wrap materials in reusable blankets or padding, or take back the pack-
aging after the materials have been delivered.
■ Include waste disposal costs in bids—Require subcontractors to include the cost of
removing their waste in their bids to give them an incentive to produce less waste.
■ Deconstruction—Require the process of selective dismantling or removal of mate-
rials from buildings before or instead of demolition. Reuse and recycling examples
include electrical and plumbing fixtures that are reused; steel, copper, and lumber
that are reused or recycled; wood flooring that is remilled; and doors and windows
that are refinished for use in new construction.

In addition, the construction team can reuse scrap materials on-site. Many building
materials may be reusable during renovation projects and also in projects where a new
building is built following the demolition of another. Planners can increase reuse poten-
tial by making efforts to use the same size and types of materials as in the old construc-
tion. Inadequate storage space for materials during the interim from removal to reinstal-
lation may limit reuse as a materials-recovery option. Typical materials suitable for reuse
include plumbing fixtures, doors, cabinets, windows, carpeting, bricks, light fixtures,
ceiling and floor tiles, wood, HVAC equipment, and decorative items (including fire-
places and stonework). Below are several basic construction and demolition reuse tips

■ Leftover masonry material can be crushed on site and used for fill or as bedding
material for driveways.
■ Joist off-cuts can be cut up and used as stakes for forming or for headers around
openings in the floor assembly.
■ Leftover rigid insulation can be used as ventilation baffles in attics or installed into
house envelopes at joist header assemblies.
■ Pallets can be reused or returned to vendors.
■ Salvageable materials can be given to businesses that collect and resell used con-
struction materials.