A lot has changed in the construction and demolition (C&D) recycling industry since Construction & Demolition Recycling’s predecessor publication, C&D Recycler, debuted in 1999.We talked with a panel of industry experts about how the industry has shifted over the years and what new changes might be on the horizon. Wipe down ‘high touch points’ in your cab. Recycling construction and demolition waste is profitable and environmental way to produce aggregates and reuse valuable materials that would otherwise be disposed. If all that hand washing while outside your truck sounds like too much, wear gloves. Solid waste management practices have identified the reduction, recycling, and reuse of wastes as essential for sustainable management of resources.Most construction and demolition w… Two other certification programs deserve mention here: TRUE Zero Waste (an acronym for Total Resource Use and Efficiency) administered by Green Business Certification Inc., and Underwriters Laboratories’ (UL) Environmental Claim Validation Procedure 2799 for Zero Waste to Landfill. AEM announces Caterpillar’s Phil Kelliher as event chairperson. Geer says to disinfect your truck each morning before getting on the road with wipes or disinfecting sprays that are at least 70 percent alcohol or chlorine. It pays to recycle, literally. Implementation of such an idea may be years away, but it is possible now. Construction waste is clean and easy to sort at each stage of construction. Logistics can also be challenging for construction contractors. It includes all the waste produced by the construction and demolition of buildings and infrastructure, as well as road planning and maintenance. LEED remains the most popular certification option in the U.S., but there are now other competing building standards including Green Globes, which advertises itself as a more flexible competitor to LEED, and the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), an international standard that evaluates the whole lifecycle of the built environment. Several years ago, the Construction Materials Recycling Association estimated that a further 29 million tons of waste were available for recovery … If a C&D recycling facility is not equipped to handle such specialty materials, the contractor must devise a way to manage multiple material waste streams at the construction or demolition site, which may be space or cost prohibitive and require a higher level of training to all crew members. A similar difference exists between the words “demolition” and “deconstruction,” which are two fundamentally different activities. 6, No. Concrete is the second most consumed material after water, so recycling of concrete can save construction costs also it will help to keep environment healthy. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), demolition activities alone accounted for more than 90 percent of the estimated 569 million tons of construction and demolition (C&D) waste generated in the U.S. in 2017. “The bins way in the back of the lot aren’t seeing waste piled as high,” Pippin says. “In your mind, go through how you normally drive and take note of all the things you normally touch,” he says. Components of construction and demolition waste typically include concrete, asphalt, wood, metals, gypsum wallboard, roofing, paper, plastic, drywall and glass. In many countries like Japan, United States, United Kingdom various recycling techniques are being used and returning good results. A recent scheme in Berlin, in which precast concrete panels were reclaimed from a … To incentivize this paradigm shift through innovation and increased recycling, some jurisdictions have taken inspiration from the various sustainability certification programs and made C&D waste management plans and diversion minimums the standard requirement—not the option. The materials in buildings and their interior spaces, however, often fall into the mixed C&D category, which achieves a significantly lower recycling rate of only 37.6 percent, according to the Construction and Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA). All facilities are different and have differing considerations for future investment, but investment is key to keeping these facilities operating at maximum efficiency. Â,  “We have as many as 25 bins at some properties,” Pippin says. Basically, any time you leave the cab, you need to wash your hands before coming back in. Maybe it will show up there.”, According to Pippin, this cost savings has quickly added up to help the company save as waste piles up during shelter-in-place mandates. 83-92, 2013, 10 Pages Indeed, buildings are rich stores of materials, whose embodied energy, carbon and economic value should not be lost due to a lack of planning, communication and collaboration. Disposing of this waste is an absolute wastage of valuable resources, which can be re-established back in the system. The Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA) promotes and defends the environmentally sound recycling of the more than 583 million tons of recoverable construction and demolition (C&D) materials that are generated in the United States annually. AIMS operates 15 branches across the U.S., which are positioned in regions of high demand in the West, Southwest and Southeast. Most importantly, Geer says to scrub your palms hard. To promote recycling and reuse of waste, awareness about its effects and benefits should be communicated with people, contractors, engineers and architects. Chuck Geer, head of Clean Harbor’s COVID-19 decontamination efforts, provides the best practices on vehicle sanitation. “With the backing of Sterling, we expect the company’s leadership position and growth trajectory will only be enhanced.”, North America’s largest waste haulers stretch from coast to coast, generating tens of billions of dollars in revenue and employing hundreds of thousands of employees. Responsible management of waste is an essential aspect of sustainable building. 1. I do believe the LEED system has good intentions, however, it also has its weaknesses. This is not a best management practice. The specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed. If we document today the components of a given building project, we can better understand how to salvage and reuse these components in the future. On top of LEED’s general lack of emphasis on C&D waste mitigation and management, the responsibility for achieving these goals is effectively placed on the construction contractor to procure a service provider and produce the correct documentation to meet the LEED standard requirements. I always did my best to deliver design solutions that met my clients’ needs while also being sustainable. The waste generated from the construction industry is commonly called as Construction & Demolition Waste or C&D waste. I spent the first part of my career in the architecture and design industry. And if the design industry isn’t thinking about it, and isn’t asking manufacturers to create products that cater to these needs, the result is a vast disconnect between how and what we are putting into our buildings and the ability to reuse or recycle these items at the end of their initial lives. Certainly, not all C&D waste is attributable to buildings: by weight, most is generated from roads, bridges and other infrastructure in the form of asphalt, concrete and other aggregates. To best wash your hands, it’s recommended to wash with cold or warm water and to soap vigorously for 20 seconds. This includes, at the policy and public program management level, how we communicate about C&D waste. So, disposal does not mean to dump it as a landfill option. Waste Management also has not been enforcing some recycling contamination fees, so we’re kind of getting a mulligan on that, too. It appeared as though the construction contractor was dependent on someone else later resolving the issue of recycling. “This is saving us about $8,000 per week in expenses. Trash volumes at apartment communities are showing a 30 to 35 percent increase nationally during the COVID-19 crisis, according to Camden Residential, a Houston-based real estate investment trust (REIT) that operates 165 properties across the country. LEED, launched in 2000, has evolved over time and grown from one certification standard to a suite of certification options. There are a lot of opportunities and challenges to recycling of construction and demolition waste into usable end products. The efficient use of resources is a fundamental tenet of green building construction. The partnership BGL helped us establish with Sterling Investment Partners will allow us to expedite the achievement [of] our growth plan,” Chris Mihaletos, founder and CEO of AIMS, says. The EPA calculates that buildings themselves are estimated to account for just 32 percent of C&D waste by weight, but this category is more problematic than others because of the types of materials it generates. We know he will ably guide the show’s strategic direction to deliver an enhanced experience at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2023.”, Kelliher says, “Caterpillar is pleased to participate with AEM in the continued enhancement and growth of ConExpo-Con/Agg to provide a world-class experience and value for the show’s attendees, members and exhibitors.”. Construction and Demolition (C&D) debris is a type of waste that is not included in municipal solid waste (MSW). Materials like concrete, wood, metals and asphalt can all be recycled. For example, prior to LEED version 4 (which was not fully phased in until late 2016), commercial construction projects could achieve a maximum of only two possible, non-mandatory points related to C&D waste: one point for achieving 50 percent waste diversion and the other for achieving 75 percent waste diversion. Wash your hands before reentering your cab. More numbers of recycling plants should be installed and allowing the use of recycled aggregate instead of natural aggregate for some purpose. “The AIMS team has built an exceptional platform for infrastructure maintenance and inspection services,” BGL Director and Principal Michael Vinciguerra says. from the Construction and demolition waste (CDW) accounts for more than a third of all waste generated in the EU. waste asphalt, bricks, concrete, plasterboard, timber and vegetation ; asbestos and contaminated soil; The advice on this page covers all wastes that may be generated as part of construction and demolition activities, including ‘building and demolition waste’ as defined in the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997. Other types of financial disincentives to wasting materials exist, such as through landfill taxes or fees. Significant volumes of construction & demolition waste is generated from demolition of existing buildings, factories, and infrastructure. Put your gloves on immediately after exiting the cab and take them off again before getting back in and touching anything. This was more than twice the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) that the EPA estimated was generated in the same year. Policy could also be written to require proof of recycling in order to receive a conditionally refundable deposit, as is the case in the cities of San Jose and Santa Monica, California. This leaves LEED as the industry’s de facto certification option. Ascertaining this information requires time and money, ultimately disincentivizing material reuse and conservation. Sustainable development in construction will help a lot to reduce the problems related to environment and natural resources as construction industry is a major user of world’s resources. “If you touch it, it needs to be wiped down. This article originally appeared in the March/April issue of Construction & Demolition Recycling magazine. Recycling of Construction and demolition waste has many benefits such as reduction in transportation cost, it keeps environment clean and reduces natural resource exploitation. Moreover, most of these building materials are lost to the landfill when buildings and interior spaces are renovated or demolished. Every little bit helps.”. In this context, managing waste means eliminating waste where possible; minimizing waste where feasible; and reusing materials which might otherwise become waste. The case study, Recycling power poles into high-value timber products, on page 34 of the Construction and Demolition Waste Guide, incorrectly attributes the development of protocols for recycling redundant utility poles and bridge timbers in NSW to Kennedy's Timber, Energex and the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage. Sustainable Management of Construction and Demolition Materials Construction and Demolition (C&D) materials consist of the debris generated during the construction, renovation and demolition of buildings, roads, and bridges. There is still no incentive to achieve more than 75 percent waste diversion, and a given project does not necessarily need to achieve this level of diversion to attain LEED certification at any level based on the other points earned. Today’s technology helps remove this barrier. Posted: 24 Jan 2014 GBB is currently working with a client as its C&D materials recovery coordinator to help achieve a goal of zero C&D waste during renovation projects. Donate Materials that are in Good Condition. If a construction project or demolition does produce waste, workers can divert much of it from landfills by recycling it. To meet a similar end, policy could revolve around certain C&D materials prohibited in landfills, such as metals, gypsum board, clean wood, concrete and stone, and the requirement that all C&D materials pass through a recycling facility prior to landfilling, as in King County, Washington. Suggested Citation, Gat No. Around 70.6 million tons of urban wood waste was generated in the U.S. in 2010, including 48 percent from municipal solid waste and 52 percent from construction and demolition (C&D). And through proper C&D materials recovery coordination, we can work together to make connections and foster collaboration across the value chain, communicate to bridge the disconnects where they exist between actors, and create a system that works hard to preserve the value of materials by keeping these products circulating within, instead of leaking out of, our economy. Frankly, the design industry just isn’t thinking about what will happen at the end of material life. “Be patient and let the alcohol or chlorine do its work. The issues are multifaceted and span the value chain, including manufacturers, designers and architects, construction contractors, materials processors, and the public policy officials and waste managers in local and state governments. AIMS is a national provider of infrastructure inspection, maintenance and support services to the municipal, utility, industrial and energy end markets. In this paper I am going to focus on different recycling techniques and reuse of construction and demolition waste. This could be accomplished by making these requirements a building code minimum, a condition of permitting or a means for building owners and builders to avoid citations or fines, such as CALGreen’s green building standards code, which requires that all construction projects divert at least 65 percent of waste and either submit a waste management plan or use the services of a company that can provide verifiable diversion documentation. While disinfecting the steering wheel, console and gear shift are obvious, it’s important to sanitize ‘high touch points,’ such as door handles, seatbelts, buckles, seats, radio knobs and any other typical controls. Recycling of Construction and demolition waste has many benefits such as reduction in transportation cost, it keeps environment clean and reduces natural resource exploitation. … The massive equipment expo and trade show, backed by numerous business associations, is scheduled for March 14-18, 2023, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. BGL’s Environmental & Industrial Services Group served as the financial advisor to AIMS in the transaction. But for the other properties, where haulers provide trash pickup five or six or times per week, Pippin says he’s seeing overflow in the bins nearest to the buildings. If we could reach a tipping point of having enough projects planned in this manner, we would have a critical mass for the creation of a materials exchange, where materials from buildings are aggregated for sale to the reuse market. What are your surroundings? Since its release in 2006, the Living Building Challenge (LBC) has sought to achieve environmental restoration through the built environment by producing more energy than is consumed for given projects, treating water on-site and using healthy building materials. Phil Kelliher of Caterpillar Inc. and chairperson for ConExpo-Con/Agg 2023. https://www.wastetodaymagazine.com/article/cd-materials-construction-demolition-recovery/, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Construction and Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19, BGL’s Environmental & Industrial Services Group, © 2021 GIE Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Mixed C&D recycling, therefore, is an industry sector that poses significant opportunity for growth. “I’m fighting with those [residents] who carry the trash to the bins to even it out, telling them to walk a bit further before dumping, but there’s only so much you can do.”. We have a responsibility to communicate and collaborate across the value chain, as well as to challenge ourselves to keep improving and innovating. Cleveland-based Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) has announced the recapitalization of AIMS Companies by Sterling Investment Partners. 5. Building a better solution will require us to use systems thinking principles and shift our perspective from the linear to the circular. Everyone in the construction and demolition industry can contribute by reducing waste, using materials in a better way, and collecting waste for recycling. Most of the time construction and demolition waste ends up in landfills disturbing environmental, economical and social life cycle. Demolition implies destruction such that the components of a building will be rendered unusable for any purpose and can only be recycled or landfilled. As building information modeling (BIM) technology has continued to develop and mature over the past decade, the architectural and design industry can document exactly what materials go into a building as part of its construction plans, down to the manufacturer, material type, shape, size and color. Clean Harbors, Norwell, Massachusetts, has teamed up with Samsara, San Francisco, California, to provide the best practices on vehicle sanitation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sterling is a Westport, Connecticut-based middle-market private equity firm focused on business services and distribution investments. While these programs are unique in that they are exclusively focused on waste, the scope of these programs—TRUE encompassing the organization as a whole and UL focusing on operations only— makes them unlikely to become the program of choice for most architecture and design projects. Keywords: Construction & Demolition waste; Recycling; Reuse; Recycling techniques; Sustainable development, Suggested Citation: Sometimes, if the contractors were pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the construction contractor would need to ensure that at least 50 percent, or sometimes 75 percent, of materials were diverted from waste. 3 Construction Waste Composition and Quantification. So, while the construction industry is still amongst the largest contributors for waste, we’ve come a long way with our recycle and reuse habits. “The BGL team clearly understands our industry and our company’s unique position in the market. The growth in the construction industry triggers waste production to exponential levels. Although its been heard a million times over the past month or so, Geer says washing your hands is the most important thing we can do to stem the spread of coronavirus. It contains a wide variety of materials such as concrete, bricks, wood, glass, metals and plastic. The Milwaukee-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has announced Phil Kelliher, a vice president with Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar Inc., will serve as chair of the 2023 ConExpo-Con/Agg event. Whatever the source of the construction waste, some materials can still be useful to some people or can be reused or recycled. Its waste management plan, which is referred to as a “materials conservation management plan,” must address the entire project lifecycle from design through end of life. And this type of waste generation has been growing, quickly, ever since the EPA first estimated C&D waste generation at 136 million tons in 1996. Camden has trash compactors at 100 of its communities, so overage is not an issue at those locations. Kumbhar, Snehal and Gupta, Anilkumar and Desai, Dadaso, Recycling and Reuse of Construction and Demolition Waste for Sustainable Development (2013). Deconstruction, on the other hand, involves dismantling a building with the goal of maximizing the salvageability and reuse of its components. Previously helping to curtail the spread of avian flu, swine flu and H1N1, Clean Harbors is currently on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19—dispatching thousands of trained experts to help more than 1,300 businesses in the U.S. and Canada decontaminate airlines, cruise ships, trains, fleets, sports stadiums, schools, universities and more.