|
Demolition and construction produce a lot of debris. Much of this detritus is simply garbage, but a surprising amount of it is recyclable. A waste management company in Westville, IN, is poised and ready to help you take advantage of recycling opportunities. If you are anxious to make your next project a bit greener, here are some common construction materials that can be recycled: - Carpet Nylon carpet fibers can be reprocessed and made into new carpet. Carpet backing can also be reprocessed and turned into new backing.
- Asphalt Asphalt from paving or shingles can be recycled into new asphalt.
- Concrete Materials containing Portland cement and mineral aggregates can be broken down and reused.
- Drywall Drywall or wallboard contains gypsum or calcium sulfate. When calcium sulfate decomposes in landfills, it emits harmful gases, but it is possible to recycle drywall to prevent this. The recycling process removes the paper and then reuses the gypsum.
- Metals Ferrous and non-ferrous metals can be recycled.
- Cardboard New construction especially can create a considerable amount of cardboard waste, all of which can be recycled.
- Wood Used lumber, particle board, shredded board and sawdust can all be recycled.
- Plastic A wide variety of plastics can be easily recycled. This list includes, but is not limited to, PETE, HDPE, PVC, and LDPE. Before you throw away anything plastic, check with your local recycling company to see if it can recycled.
- Personal Waste Every work site sees some eating and drinking. Recycle the trash! Collect the bottles and cans and recycle them regularly.
Are there any items that cannot be recycled or require caution? Yes. Toxic materials, such as asbestos or PCBs, and other contaminated materials cannot be recycled and should be disposed according to state regulations. Demolition and construction recycling is a big deal. The most commonly discarded materials from a work site are concrete, wood, drywall, asphalt from shingles and pavement, metal and cardboard. These materials, on average, make up 70 to 95 percent of the waste material at a residential or commercial site. But, these materials are actually valuable commodities. Recycling them benefits your company and your community. The benefits to you come to your bottom line. Quite often, your waste disposal company and dump will charge you less to accept recyclable materials, especially if they are sorted from other materials. Additionally, if you start sorting your waste and change to a recycling mindset, you will likely find that many of the materials you were going to throw away can actually be reused by you at one of your sites, which will also save money. Or, you may find you can sell some of those materials.Your green thinking may bring in more customers, as the desire for greater environmental responsibility grows. Recycling may take you a bit more time in the short run, but the costs will become less noticeable as you move up the learning curve. The benefits, however, will only increase. The benefits to your community from increased recycling are many. The first and easiest benefit to see is that landfill growth will be checked. But if you dig a bit deeper, you will see that recycling construction and demolition materials saves energy. According to the Construction Business Owner website, “Current estimates show that if all concrete and asphalt pavement [waste] generated annually in the United States were recycled, it would save the energy equivalent of 1 billion gallons of gasoline or the removal of more than 1 million cars from the road.” That’s a lot of energy. Where do these energy saving come from? Largely from the energy needed to create new concrete and asphalt. Smaller landfill, less energy consumption, and less waste all contribute to a better community for everyone. Start recycling today. Staff at a waste management company in Westville, IN, is ready to answer your questions and help you start a recycling program at all of your worksites.
Related Articles -
Waste, Management, Company, Westville, IN,
|
