Builders Embrace Benefits of Recycling

The next day, a recycling executive named Rick Givan watched as giant machinery ground chunks of runways from the former Stapleton airport into tiny bits that will be used as a base for roads and buildings throughout the metro area.

Bauer and Givan are on opposite ends of a national trend to recycle building materials by using them in new construction projects, keeping the usable wood, steel, concrete and glass out of landfills.

Some developers say they break even or come out ahead by diverting usable building materials and hunks of other debris to retail operations. The economic benefits are less certain for smaller projects, but some middlemen are making it viable by identifying tax breaks.

Colorado has been at the center of the movement to encourage deconstruction and recycling of homes and buildings since 2001, when the Used Building Materials Association moved to Boulder from Canada.

The trend got even more traction when developers at large-scale projects including Stapleton, Lowry and Belmar committed to recycle existing buildings on their sites. Mall developer Westcor last month said it will do the same as it redevelops Crossroads Mall in downtown Boulder.

Then there are people such as Bauer and do-it-yourselfers on the hunt for antique or funky building materials.

"Over the last 15 or 20 years, there has been so much focus on curbside recycling. Now the focus is shifting toward other waste streams like construction debris," said Ken Sandler, a specialist in the EPA's office of solid waste.

The EPA estimates that more than 136 million tons of construction and demolition debris, including concrete, asphalt, wood, metal and roofing materials are generated each year. While much of that is used material ripped from existing structures, it includes new items hauled away from construction sites. Between 65 percent and 85 percent of construction debris winds up in landfills.

Developers at Stapleton, Lowry and Belmar recently illustrated there is a market for used building materials that can help them recoup the cost of the effort.

Sometimes the recycling is required.

At Stapleton, where 12,000 housing units are being built over 20 years, some 6 million tons of concrete from the former airport's runways are being recycled on site and used to build roads there. In addition, much of the material from the former terminal building was hauled out to be recycled or reused elsewhere.

"What it boils down to is that it's the right thing to do," said Tom Gleason, a spokesman for Forest City, the company redeveloping the former airport. "A lot of our buyers are young families who think in terms of the environment and recycling."

Forest City was required to do that recycling as part of the bidding process to redevelop the former airport.

Continuum Partners, the developer turning Lakewood's former Villa Italia mall into a mixed-use neighborhood called Belmar, reused or recycled 82 percent of the former mall and its parking lots.

Belmar will have shops, offices and 1,300 homes.

More than 2 million square feet of asphalt and 186,000 tons of concrete from the mall were crushed and reused. Steel and copper were hauled off to recycling centers. Glass, doors, windows and light fixtures from the mall were reused in the on-site sales and leasing center, as well as inside Continuum's downtown Denver headquarters.

"These things have value if you can find somebody that can use them," said Robert Hayner, director of construction for Continuum. He estimated that the cost savings from reusing materials allowed the developer to break even in its recycling efforts.

At Lowry, where 4,500 homes are being built, the Lowry Redevelopment Authority said it realized significant savings by deconstructing and selling or recycling materials from buildings on the former Air Force base.

"We chose to implement the salvage program because it saves a lot of money in trucking and dumping fees," said Hilarie Portell, a spokeswoman for the Lowry Redevelopment Authority. The project's salvage foreman booked $280,000 from the sale of reusable and recyclable items and saved three times that amount in trucking and dumping fees, she said.

For projects smaller than Stapleton, Belmar and Lowry, recycling efforts do not necessarily result in big cost savings.

"Two people and two pieces of equipment can make a building go away in a day (for disposal). But deconstruction can take a crew of four to six people a week to 10 days," said Kurt Buss, a board member for the Used Building Materials Association.

Boulder-based Reconnx Inc. is trying to cut that time by offering tools that speed up the deconstruction process. Among the company's products is a reverse nail gun that punches nails out of lumber so it can be reused. Sales of the gun have increased 60 percent in each of the past few years, said company chief executive John Giltner.

Giltner said automating the deconstruction process will eventually make it faster and cheaper to salvage materials from existing buildings. But deconstruction advocates still must make the case that it's cheaper to recycle than landfill.

"As long as it's cheaper to smash a building up and throw it away, that's what people are going to do. Everyone has a budget to mind," said Buss, who is also program manager for ReSource 2000, a Boulder-based used building-material supply yard.

The Rocky Mountain area has some of the cheapest landfill costs in the country, which can discourage developers and contractors from looking for alternatives to disposal, Buss said.

To close the gap for smaller projects, nonprofits have stepped in to act as middlemen, allowing contractors and individual renovators to bring in used materials that are resold. Donors are able to take a tax deduction for their donations, which brings their deconstruction costs in line with demolition, said Mark Bowen, yard supervisor for ReSource 2000.

Habitat for Humanity last month opened a used building-materials outlet in Denver. The store, which sells everything from windows and doors to light fixtures and paint, will send deconstruction crews to homes and commercial buildings to collect the salvageable materials.

They're scheduled to take apart a house in Cherry Hills Village later this month. The house, which sold for $3 million, is being replaced with a new one.

"A lot of people don't realize that they don't have to throw this stuff away. It can be reused," said Roger Krapfl, director of the Habitat store. The 14,000-square-foot store attracts dozens of contractors and do-it-yourselfers looking for products that sell for as much as 80 percent off retail prices.

Similarly, Bud's Warehouse and ReSource 2000 have gained a following among buyers hunting for deals.

Bud's Warehouse shopper Ray Krupa recently scouted for doors he could use to convert a garage in Brush into a game room for teenagers.

"A lot of it costs so darn much, it's prohibitive to get it new," he said. - the Denver Post