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Green Building

Carl Seville Consulting

6/1/08

A Fresh Start
Renovation Debris Finds New Use
By Carl Seville • Photography courtesy of Seville Consulting

Everywhere you look, someone is renovating their house, and almost every one of those projects has a dumpster parked in front. Those ubiquitous steel containers are an easy way to get rid of all the debris. Throw it in, haul it off, and it’s gone. But where to? Usually to a landfill, many of which are being closed as they fill up. So it goes to a transfer station, where it is unloaded, then reloaded into a larger truck and driven away to a new landfill. This process takes time, money, fuel and land, all of which are limited resources.

We all know how to recycle newspaper, cans and bottles in the bins provided by our local government. Recycling construction debris is more involved, but with a little extra effort, can be very successful. Let’s look at what can be recycled in a remodeling project. Starting at the top, most roofs are covered with shingles. These can be recycled into a gravel-like material that can be used as a base for driveways, roads and parking lots. After the roofing comes off, renovations often remove roof decking, rafters and other framing material. Many older homes were built with heart pine lumber, a rare and valuable material that can be salvaged and remilled. Any unpainted lumber can be ground into mulch and used for erosion control or plant bedding. Nails can be removed and framing lumber reused.

Masonry and concrete are easily recycled. Landscape contractors may be interested in older bricks, which they can use to build walls and walkways. Broken or unusable bricks, concrete block and clay roof tiles can be ground into gravel. When removing an old concrete driveway, plan on sending the debris to a recycler instead of the dump. The costs are about the same, and you will reduce the volume of material going to the landfill. Other products that can be ground into gravel include toilets, porcelain sinks and ceramic tile.

Homes undergoing renovations are full of treasures that can be repurposed. Cabinets, appliances, doors, windows, plumbing fixtures, lighting and flooring can be reused or donated to non-profit organizations that reuse or resell them to support their programs. Copper wiring and piping, aluminum gutters and other non-ferrous metals provide a reasonable return on the time spent. The packaging that products arrive in is a major source of jobsite trash. Cardboard boxes, wood pallets and clear plastic all can be recycled, often removed at no cost by salvage companies.

A little planning and jobsite management can reduce renovation waste by more than 50%, providing both cost savings and environmental benefits long after construction is complete.

Carl Seville is a green builder, consultant, educator and writer on sustainability. He founded, and for 25 years served as Vice President of, SawHorse, Inc., an Atlanta design/build firm. Through Seville Consulting, his firm helps homeowners and builders create healthy, efficient and durable buildings by incorporating sustainable practices. Most recently, Seville was included in Atlanta Home & Lifestyles Magazine’s “Little Green Book” feature earlier this year being listed in the publication’s “Hot 100 Green Things About Atlanta.” Visit www.sevilleconsulting.com for more information.

Green Resources
On and Off Site Grinding and Recycling:
Patterson Services, Cynthia Poselenzny, (404) 505-0522,
www.packer2000.com

On Site Grinding and Hauling:
Crestco, John Rimondi, (404) 392-4075, JCR242@aol.com
Gourmet Grind, Ben Nelson, (770)-720-1981,
www.gourmetgrinding.com
Ground Up, Jeff Grantham, (678) 429-3833
Related Recycling, Eric Wright, (706) 224-1601

Non Profits:
Home Resource Exchange, (404) 627-4304 / They accept cabinets, some doors, other building materials, call to discuss. They will send a truck to pick up, call to schedule
Atlanta Habitat for Humanity Restore, (404) 525-2114
www.atlantahabitat.org/restore_donate.asp / Call to discuss what they will accept and if they will pick up; appliances newer than 7 years, new or excellent building materials, lighting, plumbing, cabinets, etc. Schedule pickups 10 days in advance.
Furniture Bank, (404) 355-8530,
www.furniturebankatlanta.org/donate.html
Only furniture in usable condition.
Atlanta ToolBank, (404) 880-0054, www.toolbank.org / Accepts (drop offs by appointment) uncut lumber, appliances, cabinets, some plumbing, unopened paint, unopened drywall mud, plywood, osb, etc., full sheets, doors, maybe some other products, call to confirm they have space. Also good quality carpet barely used, ceramic tile, tools
Thrift Ministry, (404) 588-4012,
www.atlantaunionmission.org/ThriftGuidelines.htm
Accepts kitchen appliances, washers, dryers, water heaters, window AC units, lighting, metals
FODAC, (770) 491-9014, www.fodac.org
Accepts some household goods, used medical equipment, etc. Call for details.
Other options:
Blaze Recycling, www.blazerecycling.com / Located in Norcross, Griffin, Gainesville. Accepts appliances and other metals. They pay if total is over 500 pounds.
Cobb County Recycling Center, solidwaste.cobbcountyga.gov/recycle.htm
Accepts appliances only.
1-800 Got Junk, www.1800gotjunk.com, Todd Beaver, (404) 367-5500, todd.beaver@1800gotjunk.com / Trash removal and recycle metals, electronics and household goods when they can. Schedule service by phone or website.

Web Resources:
Pollution Prevention Assistance Division State agency responsible for reducing pollution, www.p2ad.org/documents/cd_home.html
ToolBase Construction Waste Management Web Page, www.toolbase.org/ToolbaseResources/level3.aspx?BucketID=5&CategoryID=26
NAHB Green Building Guidelines, www.nahbgreen.org/Guidelines/nahbguidelines.aspx
EPA Waste Reduction Strategies, www.ilsr.org/recycling/buildingdebris.pdf
EPA Deconstruction and Reuse, www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/debris-new/reuse.htm
Waste to Wealth Deconstruction Publications, www.ilsr.org/recycling/decon/deconpublications.html

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