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From BioCycle Journal of Composting &Organics Recycling November 2001, Page 46 |
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TARGETING LARGE COMMERCIAL SITES
RECYCLING GROWS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
King County, Washington outreach program shows financial benefits are gained through recycling construction, demolition and land clearing debris.
Theresa Koppang
THE HIGH-TECH focus of the 1990s brought a building boom to King County, Washington, which is home to major international corporations like Microsoft, Starbucks Coffee and Amazon.com. In 1998, 187,800 tons of construction, demolition and land clearing (CDL) debris were generated and in 1999, it increased to about 209,400 tons of CDL. About 20 to 30 percent of King County’s overall waste stream comes from CDL.
When the private construction landfills closed in 1993, the county contracted two regional garbage companies to collect construction waste at transfer stations and then transport it to private landfills outside the county. Private CDL companies collect and process virtually all construction recyclables. The most economical to handle are: clean wood, some painted and treated wood and laminates, landclearing, ferrous and nonferrous metals, gypsum drywall, asphalt roofing (nonasbestos 3-tab and built-up roofing), and concrete, asphalt, rock and brick.
Recycling costs for materials like carpet and acoustical ceiling tile are increasingly competitive with disposal rates. The primary market for wood is hog fuel, although some is used for engineered wood products. Gypsum drywall is recycled into the same product. Landclearing materials are often ground and used for mulch as erosion control on site. It can also be used for hog fuel, depending on the developer. Only one processor in the county accepts painted and treated wood, although what it accepts is limited, and it is also sent to a hog fuel market.
In 1993, King County began to educate the industry about recycling and reusing building materials. The program has grown to become a full technical assistance and recognition program with two full-time employees. Dubbed the CDL program, the county has found that early planning and a committed crew can yield an 80 to 90 percent job site recycling rate and significant cost savings. The program takes a proactive approach, identifying upcoming projects that could generate substantial waste, contacting developers and working with the project team to develop a waste management plan. King County also responds to public inquiries about construction site recycling by phone and e-mail and has a searchable recycling database.
RECYCLING DATA PLUS OUTREACH
King County combines technical information about recycling with extensive education and outreach to the construction industry. In the region, the success of construction recycling hinges on two factors: Recycling must remain voluntary rather than mandatory; and the marketplace must determine the economic viability of recycling without direct subsidies from King County government. Since the county provides no subsidies, and delegates collection and manufacturing services to private vendors, CDL program staff focus on creating and exploiting incentives for construction companies to recycle their waste and to build with salvaged and recycled content materials. Fortunately, in the King County region job-site recycling makes clear economic sense. The cost to dump construction materials averages $85/ton, whereas recycling costs anywhere from free to $55/ton—a real incentive.
In developing the program, King County researched commercial and residential construction and decided to target large, commercial job sites. Their economy of scale meant substantial recycling and financial savings less apparent in smaller, residential projects. However, only a few prominent companies capitalized on these benefits through extensive recycling. To spread the word, the county produced case studies, quantifying the savings active recyclers had achieved.
97 PERCENT RECOVERY RATE; $100,000 SAVINGS IN DISPOSAL FEES
The most recent study highlights the activities of Baugh Construction at the new Boeing Commercial Airplane Group Headquarters in Renton. The company achieved a 97 percent recycling rate, recycling more than 6,590 tons of concrete, asphalt, wood, metal, aluminum, cardboard, paper and land clearing materials. Concrete and asphalt —6,401.5 tons of it — were broken down and used in roadbeds and building pads. Wood from a previous project, the Boeing project and from land clearing was ground and used as mulch, in landscaping and in other nonstructural applications. More than 14,000 cubic yards of soil were exported to the south end of the job site and used for erosion control and landscaping. It is estimated that recycling saved Baugh $100,000 in disposal fees.
Baugh also used recycled content products in the building. The reinforcing steel is 100 percent recycled. Parking lot curbs and some landscaping headers and pathways are made from recycled plastic. The lobby countertops are made from recycled newsprint and the wood paneling was harvested from sustainable forests.
LABOR COSTS OFFSET BY SAVINGS
King County faced a common belief that job site recycling would raise labor costs because it requires separating and sorting material into containers. By disseminating the case study results through national trade organizations, the county showed that cost savings from recycling offset the rare, negligible bump in labor costs. The major national trade groups have subsequently established policies supporting construction site recycling.
The county has many outreach programs. One of the programs, “Construction Works,” recognizes King County construction companies that embrace the ethic of job site recycling and waste prevention during building design and construction, and use of recycled content building materials.
Theresa Koppang is the manager of the King County, Washington Green Building Program.
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