C&D News

Builders and contractors can save money recycling their construction and demolition materials, while also providing environmental benefits, according to a survey recently conducted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The average cost to recycle concrete rubble is $4.85 per ton vs. an average of $75 per ton to haul and dispose of the material in a New Jersey landfill. Similar cost savings came from recycling asphalt ($5.70 per ton) and bricks and blocks ($5.49). Even recycling wood at $45.63 per ton and trees and stumps at $37.69 per ton is economical compared to the $75 average transportation and disposal cost, according to the DEP.

"This survey again shows that recycling C&D materials is usually the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly method of disposal," William Turley, executive director of the Construction Materials Recycling Association, Lisle, Ill., says.

More complete results from the survey can be found at www.state.nj.us/ep/
dshw/recycle/builderinfo.htm.

A "courtesy information" letter has informed local construction and demolition generators operating in the city of Lakewood, Wash., that all C&D debris and scrap must be handled by the town’s franchisee Lakewood Refuse. Source-separated recyclables are excepted.

Recyclers, considered un-franchised haulers, can continue to haul material if they pay a registration tax to the city. Area recyclers worry that the franchising situation could effectively prevent them from receiving material from demolition and construction contractors operating there.

The Public Works Department generated the letter on the orders of city council, which recently voted to expand Lakewood Refuse’s waste franchise.

The University of Georgia, Athens, has released a study that concludes that "mulches with a structural engineered-wood component should be safe to use on site" at construction sites.

This was based on the fact the mulches had no effect on the growth of three commonly used landscaping plants in tests performed by the university’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The study examined what would be considered potential environmental issues from ground engineered-wood products—surface water contamination, changes in the chemistry or biology of the underlying soils and negative effects on plant growth.

Little published information is available on the potential environmental impacts of ground engineered wood products, which can include such contaminants as formaldehyde, phenol, methyl methacrylate and diallyl phtalate, as well as sodium and nitrogen.

Those seeking an electronic copy of the study can contact the Construction Materials Recycling Association at info@cdrecycling.org.