An urgent need exists for general contractors working on residential or small commercial projects to rethink how they deal with construction waste. Since 2000, the LEED certification program's focus on commercial and institutional construction has resulted in major improvements in construction waste management for large projects. The industry has developed the programs, methodologies and resources for dealing with the large volumes of material. This new capacity is now trickling down and becoming available to residential scaled projects. To optimize their facility capability vendors and service providers who traditionally dealt exclusively in large volume projects now accommodate the relatively small quantities of material the residential market produces Also, local nonprofit material resource centers, municipal resource centers and on-line exchange networks all offer new options for handling unwanted construction and remodeling materials.

To best utilize these new resources for sustainable waste management the builder must look at his site differently. That is, the builder must ask what constitutes waste? In fact, the environmental movement wants to move away from the notion of 'waste management' and toward the idea of 'material handling '. So, builders, aren't dealing with waste, rather they are dealing with materials that become waste only when there is no other alternative.

With this new perspective every time your crew approaches the dumpster, you need to ask what other way can we handle this material?  You will be amazed how little you actually have to put in a dumpster to go into a landfill or be incinerated. When you scrutinize exactly what you put into the waste stream you realize you could divert more than 75% of what you currently throw away.

The pie chart shows the breakdown, by material, of the waste that a typical new house construction site generates. It indicate that most materials thrown into a dumpster could be recycled or reused or diverted out of the waste stream. Today there are more resources to divert these materials than ever before.

For example the chart indicates a large part of the waste stream is made up of cardboard. Fortunately it is no longer necessary to pay to haul cardboard as CD (construction debris) waste. There is a huge sustained market for cardboard recycling. Even municipalities take cardboard because, in a good market, they make money from cardboard. So check with the local resource center or private office paper recycler. You should not have to pay to dispose of cardboard.

However the biggest change for waste management on residential construction is that recycling is no longer a matter of lining up multiple dumpsters to recycle separate materials. Now, in many areas throughout the United States mixed material or 'co-mingled' loads are separated at the processing centers after they are hauled from the site. This means you can recycle without separating materials. You can fill a dumpster as you always have and the recyclable materials are separated later. Essentially, the process is getting simpler, not more complex. This is a result of ever improving technology and broadening markets for recycled and reused material.

That is not to say that there is no place for separating materials. There are significant savings available with source separation and now there are more and more processors recycling small quantities of materials. GWB or asphalt shingles are the best examples. They cost approximately half of the co-mingled rates when recycled separately. So you can either recycle from co-mingled containers at approximately the cost of current disposal rates or you can separate recyclable materials at the site to reduce the 'tipping fees' (gate fee for the hauler) charged at the resource center. Check with local material processors and haulers for recycling resources available in your area. There are also national organizations that can help you find local resources; CMRA (Const. Materials Recycling Assoc.) at cdrecycling.org

In remodeling work,  begin with a walk through and list of the materials that can be salvaged or reused and take photos of every item.  Cabinets and countertops, plumbing fixtures, appliances, doors and windows can be donated  to the local building materials resource  center (BMRC). There is a network of BMRCs throughout the country. Check with the national organization BMRA.org . for a list of local members. Be sure to contact the center early to find out what they will take because their needs constantly change. Often BMRCs won't take older appliances or plumbing fixtures that are inefficient like older toilets and late model refrigerators.

If there are items are in good condition post them for sale on the various on-line exchange network available in your area. In the last five years there has been an explosion of on-line resources to trade or sell any material imaginable. Craig's List, freecycle.com or virtualdumpster.com are just a few.  Many municipalities now provide local on-line exchange networks as well. In Newton, Massachusetts, where I practice, it is called the wastenotnewton.org, Look on-line for local municipal services in your area or check out iwastenot.com.

Often on remodeling projects, with or without the contractors consent, homeowners throw furniture, cabinets, carpet and whatever is in the space they want to remodel, into the dumpster. With a little thought most of these things could be salvage. Builders need to direct homeowners to the other options available to them early in the process. Ask the homeowners to reach out to local charities or religious organizations to donate items they plan to dispose of. Appliances and furniture can be donated to the Salvation Army, St Vincent DePaul or Habitat for Humanity, all of whom provide pick-up service.

For building professionals there is a national web site, diggerslist.com, based in California that provides an exchange network for building materials. The Sustainable Waste Management Collaborative provides a local exchange network in the greater Boston area. These networks are specifically set up for builder-to-builder transactions for salvaged items or excess building materials.

Exchange networks also offer a potential resource to find the odd fixture or fitting that would otherwise be costly and hard to locate. Check out the viability of these networks by listing your goods well in advance of the time you need them removed from the site. This will save a lot of headaches during construction and insure you have a place for them instead of the dumpster.

Often owners just assume doors, windows, wood floors and wall plaster should be removed. Contractors should discuss salvage options with owners. Today there are many services that parch and repair materials to make salvage more attractive. Old porcelain plumbing fixtures can be refinished on site to repair chips or change the color. In the Boston area there are a number of services who restore and refinish windows either on-site or in their own shops. This allows owners to keep assemblies they just assumed would be thrown into your dumpster.

Another way to reduce the waste stream is to take advantage of the local municipal waste disposal services. Call the local town hall or DPW to find out what they will accept from the homeowner or contractor on a local project. See what the homeowners can take to their material resource center (formally the 'dump') or put out for curb side pick-up. In Newton the city will take carpet if it is cut into 4 ft. widths. Homeowners can put it out on the curb. The contractors avoids filling his dumpster with carpet .

Homeowners can contribute to a project's sustainable waste management. Agree to work together to utilize the municipal system before the job begins. Coordinate removal with curb pick-ups or trips to the town resource center. The list of materials that can be disposed of through many municipalities at little or no cost to the contractor includes cardboard, appliances, carpet, scrap metal, electronics and water heaters. Finally ask the owners to get recycling bins for the contractor's daily refuse and recyclables. Those materials add up over the length of a project. It is foolish to fill a the dumpster with plastic and glass bottles and sandwich wrappers that can be recycled by the homeowner.

Another strategy to reduce the waste stream is to reduce the source of the waste, that is, the materials used for the construction. Reduce the volume of materials brought to the site and you will reduce the waste taken from the site. Today builders are incorporating 'advanced framing techniques', that is, framing details that require fewer studs, joists or rafters. You can frame corners and wall intersections with fewer studs; increase stud and joist spacing and align floor/floor framing to reduce the amount of material needed to build. For more information refer to the US Department of Energy site: www.energysavers.gov/your_home/designing_remodeling/index.cfm/mytopic=10090

Manufacture's are providing ever greater stocks of pre-fabricated building products for the building industry. Shop fabrication uses materials much more efficiently and produces less waste. To reduce job site waste maximize use of shop fabrication in lieu of field assembly. Today it is common to have cabinetry, window and door assemblies shop built.  One day wall, roof and floor assemblies will be commonly factory built as well.  Look for opportunities for shop fabrication in closet components, interior and exterior trim, stairs, railing assemblies, wainscot paneling  and other millwork.

Manufacturers are making products with more and more recycled content. Recycled content should be a factor in your purchasing decisions because it creates the markets to divert the materials from your site dumpster. The relationship is very real. Materials like concrete, asphalt shingles, wood, gypsum are all recycled into new building products. The larger the market for products with recycled content, the larger the demand for recycled materials from the site and the more options available to you to avoid the disposal fees.

There is an ever growing pool of vendors and services who accept construction materials. Once you get into a mindset that seeks ways to divert materials from the dumpster you will discover even better and more creative alternatives for handling materials. This approach to waste is the beginning of the road to better waste management that will make your business  more profitable and more sustainable.

About the Author
Jay C. Walter is an architect with a residential practice, ENTASIS Architects PC in Newton Massachusetts. He is founder of the Sustainable Waste Management Collaborative to help builders, architects and homeowners deal with construction waste sustainable. The Collaborative offers a directory of services to divert construction waste and an exchange network for builders. The website is www.thewasteman.com.

The Collaborative Logo w/ its story: The man in the logo holds an adz. In the early 20th century buildings were 'deconstructed' instead of demolished. The adz was the tool of choice for the teams of men who went into a  building and, room by room took it apart. Later, as materials got cheaper and labor costs grew, new technology enabled buildings to simply be reduced to a pile of rubble and carted away