Colorado school district recycles C&D debris, electronics during renovations

The Boulder Valley school district in Colorado is recycling thousands of pounds of construction and demolition (C&D) debris, books and electronics while renovating its schools, a report by the Daily Camera says. More than 100,000 pounds of steel furniture, 85,000 books and 81,000 pounds of electronics have been recycled or reused so far.

A $576 million bond issue that was approved by voters in 2014 allowed the district to make reuse and recycling a priority, the report says. The requirement to reuse and recycle materials was included in vendor contracts for several projects.

Three Boulder Valley elementary schools, Boulder’s Creekside, Douglass and Broomfield’s Emerald, are getting new buildings scheduled to open in August. A new preschool through eighth grade building in Erie’s Flatiron Meadows neighborhood is also set to open in August, with the gyms, music room and lockers being finished in October. Other schools are undergoing repairs and renovations and will be getting new furniture for libraries and classrooms.

The report says the district set a goal of diverting 75 percent of its C&D debris, including wood, concrete and steel, from landfills. Sixty percent of the debris was recycled before the bond was issued. At Emerald, 92 percent of the debris was diverted from landfills.

The report says furniture and curriculum materials are first sent to other schools for use before being recycled. Art room furniture from Douglass elementary is now at a different school, and more than 85,000 books have been donated to other schools or charities. One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine cubic feet of supplies have been sent to RAFT Colorado, a teacher resource in Denver.

What could not be reused or donated in terms of technology, the report says, was sent to MeTech Recycling, an electronics recycling center in Denver. Maintenance staff also pulled door hardware, clocks, electrical components, hardware and smoke detectors from the old buildings for reuse or recycling.