Taking Great Care of My Factory

Guide To Construction Salvage And Recycling

30 July 2018

Deann Hunter

Demolition is often a regular part of the construction process, whether you're a roofing company performing teardowns or a remodeling contractor gutting and re-doing a room. Too often, the construction debris is regulated to a dumpster or a trailer in which it's simply hauled to the dump. A better and more responsible option is to recycle by marking your debris for salvage. As a secondary benefit, recycling and salvaging construction debris may also save your company money on dump fees during construction cleanup.

Know your recyclables

Knowing which of the materials your crew encounters that are recyclable is the first step in developing a salvage plan. Recyclable materials are those that can be processed for reuse, typically by sending them to a recycling center that manufactures new goods from salvaged materials. The list of common construction recyclables includes:

• Asphalt, including asphalt shingles
• Plastics
• Concrete
• Metal
• Carpeting
• Insulation
• Some tile types

Salvageable materials differ from recyclables in that these items are generally sold as-is as opposed to being manufactured into new goods. Common construction salvage includes:

• Fixtures, including plumbing, electrical, and porcelain fixtures
• Masonry bricks in reusable condition
• Some tiles
• Lumber
• Rocks and gravel
• Hardware items, like knobs and hinges

Choose a method

There are two methods for dealing with salvage and recyclables on-site: single stream or divided dumpsters.

The single stream method requires the least amount of work. You are supplied with the salvage dumpster and you can throw any debris that is on the allowable salvage list into this dumpster. A second dumpster is used for non-recyclable and non-salvageable materials. There is sometimes a cost factor with this method, since the salvage company will need to pay workers to divide the materials later down the line.

The divided dumpster requires more effort from your crew upfront. In this case, you are either given a single large dumpster divided into sections for different materials or separate dumpsters for each material. For example, a roofing crew may have a dumpster for shingles and another for wood. A window crew could have separate wood, vinyl, and glass dumpsters. This method may turn a profit for you down the line, since many companies share any profits gained from selling the divided salvage and recyclables with you.

Training

Regardless of the method you choose, you will need to train your teardown crew to properly assess items for salvage as well as divide them properly, if necessary. In some cases, tainting the salvage dumpster with the wrong type of materials could render the items unsalvageable, which is why training is vital.

You can always contract with a construction salvage and cleanup service. This allows you to find a crew that has already been fully trained in the proper way to handle debris removal for recycling and salvage.

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