A Pollution Prevention Guide for Building Construction and Demolition

Your company can benefit in a number of ways from reducing the amount of waste it needs to dispose of. The benefits include:

• reduced waste disposal costs
  
• reduced long-term liability
  
• preservation of environmental quality
  
• improved workplace safety and health
  
• projection of a positive public image

Managing construction and demolition wastes can constitute a significant cost to the business. Some wastes, such as asbestos and refrigerants, require careful and perhaps expensive handling techniques in order to avoid endangering public health or environment. Even nonhazardous wastes must be properly managed to ensure safe handling and disposition.

Waste Reduction Techniques

When clearing land for development, leave as many trees and shrubs in place as possible. Trees, stumps, branches, and other vegetative matter, once cut down, are solid waste requiring proper handling at considerable cost.

Keep waste streams separate to increase their potential for reuse, recycling, or treatment, or to reduce disposal costs. Some materials, if kept separate, may be easily reusable or recyclable; combination with other materials may limit their usability or make them difficult or expensive to dispose of. For example:

• Combining hazardous and nonhazardous waste results in all of the waste needing to be treated as hazardous.
  
• Asbestos waste, while not classified as hazardous, requires special handling, in accordance with Delaware’s Regulations Governing the Control of Air Pollution. Allowing non-asbestos waste to become contaminated with asbestos will greatly increase the time and expense involved in handling the waste. Handle all asbestos-containing waste carefully so as to avoid contamination of non-asbestos waste.
  
• Some types of construction and demolition wastes fall under the category of “clean fill” as defined in Delaware’s Regulations Governing Solid Waste. Clean fill includes such materials as rock, soil, gravel, concrete, broken glass, and/or clay or ceramic products. Such materials may be used as fill in a variety of situations, with no solid waste permit or approval required, provided there is no violation of other regulations.

For more information about regulations pertaining to clean fill and dry waste, contact:

Practice good inventory control, so as to prevent materials from becoming waste unnecessarily.

• Inspect raw materials upon delivery, and immediately return unacceptable materials to the supplier. Label containers of materials as they are received, and date containers holding perishable materials so that the first material received will be the first to be used.
  
• Protect materials from deterioration. Store them in covered areas if they are subject to degradation by rainwater or sunlight. Materials that could be ruined by dirt or dust should be stored away from high traffic areas.

Reusing Materials

• bricks and blocks
  
• doors and windows
  
• plumbing fixtures and pipes (provided they don’t contain lead)
  
• electrical fixtures and wiring

Before beginning a construction job, evaluate the materials that will be needed. Make an effort to locate and purchase previously used materials whenever possible.

Recycling

• Aluminum. All aluminum is recyclable, but only about 15% of the aluminum used in construction gets recovered and recycled. Recylers and the aluminum industry will buy any aluminum items you bring them.
  
• Other metals. Scrap metal dealers have been in the recycling business for years. Metal is a valuable recyclable material.
  
• Wood. There are numerous possible uses for old wood, including such things as mulching or chipping for use in landscaping or gardening, or as fuel. The Pollution Prevention Program (739-3822) in DNREC can provide a list of companies that recycle woodwaste.
  
• Asphalt. Old asphalt can be recycled. A new asphalt mixture can contain up to 10% of old asphalt milled from road construction or roofing shingles.
  
• Concrete. Waste concrete -- the single largest category of demolition waste -- can be crushed and used as an aggregate or a base material. A very small percentage of waste concrete (probably less than 5%) is currently being recycled in the U.S.

Sources of Additional Help

• The Northeast Industrial Waste Exchange may be able to help you find companies that can use your waste or that can supply you with previously used materials at a lower cost that virgin materials. The Exchange maintains listings of “available” and “wanted” materials (primarily chemicals, but also numerous other materials. The Exchange maintains listings of “available” and “wanted” materials (primarily chemicals, but also numerous other materials, including construction and demolition materials) Delaware businesses are eligible for free listings catalogs; you can obtain one from the Exchange directly (315-422-6572.)

• The American Institute of Constructors (813-578-0317), The National Association of Home Builders of the United States (202-822-0200), and the National Association of Demolition Contractors (708-449-5959) are three national organizations that may be able to provide additional helpful information to construction and demolition companies interested in reducing their wastes and costs.

This publication is one of a series of pollution prevention guides for various types of businesses. For more information on this and other pollution prevention or waste minimization programs, contact the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control at 739-3822 or 739-6400.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is an equal opportunity employer. No person or group shall be excluded from participation denied any benefits, or subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or handicap.