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December 5, 2007
How much waste was generated from your home's construction?
Doesn't it just make sense to minimize waste through proper engineering, material handling and storage and to recycle the rest?
From the U.S. Buildings Energy Data Book: 3.4 Construction Waste, September 2007
- Two to seven tons of waste (a rough average of 4 pounds of waste per square foot) are generated during the construction of a new single-family detached house.
- 15 to 70 pounds of hazardous waste are generated during the construction of a detached, single-family house. Hazardous wastes include paint, caulk, roofing cement, aerosols, solvents, adhesives, oils, and greases.
- Each year, U.S. builders produce between 30 and 35 million tons of construction, renovation, and demolition (C&D) waste.
- Annual C&D debris accounts for roughly 24% of the municipal solid waste stream.
- Wastes include wood (27% of total) and other (73% of total, including cardboard and paper; drywall/plaster; insulation; siding; roofing; metal; concrete, asphalt, masonry, bricks, and dirt rubble; waterproofing materials; and andscaping material).
- A much as 95% of buildings-related construction waste is recyclable, and most materials are clean and unmixed.
Come on folks, we can do better than that. What does your company do to minimize waste and increase the amount of recycled material used during construction?
Posted by Stacy Hunt at December 5, 2007 12:17 PM
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Comments
offer up some solutions. You point out the obvious, but give the contractor his or her options on recyclers and disposal practices.
***Well that's just an excellent suggestion, Cathy. The best place to find that would be right here on HGTVPro.com - there are [a ton] of articles on the topic. Just search for "construction waste" or follow this link:
http://web.hgtvpro.com/hpro/web/searchResults?searchType=Aggregate&searchString=construction+waste
;)
- Stacy
Posted by: cathy at December 11, 2007 9:10 PM
From what I have seen, there seems to be little incentive to reduce waste. It takes time and effort, and it is easier and quicker to toss it in the dumpster. Bseides, some work, like hanging sheetrock, is paid by the sheet. There is no incentive to use remnants of cut sheets.
Posted by: Stein at December 11, 2007 10:55 PM
We are building a new home on the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. We will make sure we will lessen what the contructor wastes in building materials.We will also choose mostly green materials to build with. Everything starts on a small scale, we will initiate that.
Posted by: Marcelo Reyes at December 12, 2007 7:36 AM
Want to go green?
Oh, we use flourecent bulbs, energy efficient appliances, build a tight ennvelope to conserve energy. Then christmas time comes and everyone lights up the neighborhood. Why go green? What's the point if everyone is going to throw away all that savings in a single week?
The point is if no one does it, no one will. Be the change. That attitude will get you nowhere. ;)
- Stacy
Posted by: solidman at December 12, 2007 8:33 AM
Why doesn' green construction recognize the fact that builder's are destroying our atmosphere when they remove all of the full grown trees on property to save money and time? This is one of the reasons for global warming. When will this be regulated? Some states do not allow trees to be cut down unless approved.
Posted by: sharon sharp at December 12, 2007 1:25 PM
