Construction waste has been an ever-growing concern for many years. Many government and regulation agencies have been dealing with the issue of construction waste as a way to ensure environmental sustainability.

Construction waste is generated from building operations involving materials like plastics, brick, wood, and metals. Demolition exercises are also a big contributor to construction waste. With most of these building materials being non-biodegradable, they pose a huge risk to the environment and human life when they are not managed properly and end up in landfills

Surprisingly, 75% of waste in the US is recyclable and this includes construction waste. However only a third of the waste gets recycled each year. Recycling construction is essential to keeping the environment and humans safe. If you’re interested in getting rid of construction waste, here are eight tips for construction waste recycling.

Construction Waste Recycling Tips

Construction waste can be hazardous to human health and the environment if it isn’t disposed of properly. Thus, it is important to engage in proper construction waste management. Below are some tips for your construction waste recycling.

Make a Recycling Plan Ahead

Planning is a crucial part of construction. Creating a recycling plan before construction begins ensures that all your waste is properly disposed of. You need to distribute this plan to your construction team so they can ensure the waste is properly disposed of.

One part of the recycling plan involves deciding where to recycle your construction waste. On-site recycling allows you to recycle as much of your waste as possible while off-site is a cheaper and less stressful recycling method.

Another part of your recycling plan will involve thinking of where your waste material will be stored. Before your construction project begins, think of the amount of waste material you are likely to produce and where it will be stored. Designating an area to store your construction waste will make your recycling process effective and keep your construction crew safe.

Know Which Materials Can Be Recycled

You need to know which of your construction materials can be recycled so you don’t lump them together with the ones that aren’t. For example, concrete can be recycled to make coarse aggregate for a new concrete

Glass and metal can be melted to create new products, while plastics and wood can be recycled and reused for sockets and wood chips respectively. When you know which materials can be reused and recycled, it becomes easier to sort, store and dispose of them.

Pick Deconstruction Over Demolition

Deconstruction is a perfect alternative to demolition and serves as a reuse strategy. Deconstruction disassembles the construction materials individually, conserving the materials and thereby minimizing the amount of waste generated, unlike demolition. There are certain tax breaks you can get for repurposing old materials, so you get to save on costs with deconstruction.

The materials gotten from a deconstruction process are usually very useful and can be reused and transformed into new valuable materials for your next building project. Unlike the demolition process where most of the reusable materials are destroyed, there’s little chance of such happening during the deconstruction process.

Prioritizing deconstruction over demolition for your building project will help you keep the public and environment healthy by reducing air pollution which is associated with demolition. Deconstruction also means you don’t have to train your construction workers on how to integrate recycling procedures or move the building material from the site.

Consider Donating The Materials

Before disposing of your construction materials, consider donating the ones in good condition to recycling facilities or local charities that will use them for future building projects.

For example, you can donate your appliances, doors, mirrors e.t.c if they still seem useful. Donating your construction materials is a surefire way of ensuring they get reused instead of dumped in a landfill.

These local charities use the materials gotten from you to make high-quality, low-budget, energy-saving homes that will benefit the community. Thus, donating to your local charity helps you contribute to your community and help someone along the way.

Reuse The Waste For Your New Building

Integrating your construction waste into your new building or building site is a surefire way to ensure it gets recycled. Most remodeling projects don’t demolish walls, they are simply reconfigured, moved, or redecorated.

Connect With Your Local Recycling Companies

Connect with the local recycling company or contractor in your neighborhood if you can’t recycle all the materials you have. You can ask what materials they take in to know which materials to give them and what form they take the materials.

Connecting with your local recycling company means you get to skip your recycling process and landfills. Choose recycling companies that accept mixed debris. This will eliminate the trouble of sifting through the debris yourself.

Train Your Construction Workers

You must train your construction workers effectively before they can handle construction waste. Training your workers will help them get familiar with the recycling process.

The training process involves teaching them how to sort and segregate waste materials. If the sorting process is properly done, then you can save money and time as there won’t be a need to sort later.

You can also encourage them to get certificates in sustainable deconstruction procedures. This will teach them how to find value in waste and help them differentiate between what is trash, reusable and recyclable.

Use Standard Dimensions To Build

Building with standard dimensions will help you reduce the number of materials you need. choosing standard dimensions over unique ones means you won’t have to worry about generating waste from cutting materials to fit the unique dimensions.

Building with standard dimensions means that the amount of waste generated will be reduced, and the reduction of waste is the next best thing after recycling. The waste reduction ensures that the amount of waste generated is less and this will save you much time and money.

Summary

From the tips listed above, you can see that engaging in construction waste recycling helps to make your construction process better for human life and the environment.

Furthermore, the importance of construction waste recycling cannot be overemphasized. Aside from saving you money and time, it also helps to keep the waste away from landfills and saves energy.

Make a plan today to get started on your construction waste recycling journey to make keep the environment healthy and your pockets full.