The Institution Recycling Network (IRN), Concord, N.H., is helping a prep school in New England reach for a 75 percent scrap materials recycling goal as it builds a new athletic center.
The IRN has contracted with St. Paul’s School, Concord, N.H., to help it recycle scrap materials generated from the construction project. St. Paul’s expects to achieve a recycling rate of at least 75 percent of all scrap materials generated.
Paul Lachance, St. Paul’s project manager for the athletic center, notes that construction materials recycling can help the school accomplish recycling volumes well beyond the every day paper and container stream. “Construction of the athletic center will produce more [scrap] than all of the paper and cardboard and bottles and cans we throw away on campus in a whole year. If we’re committed to recycling, this is a place we have to start,” he remarks.
A news release from the IRN says it has access to markets for more than two dozen different recyclable construction materials, and oversees all aspects of employee training, separating materials for recycling, setting out and removing containers and marketing recyclable materials. “There’s hardly a single [scrap] material on this site that we won't be recycling,” says John Gundling, head of construction waste management for the IRN. “Our list of items to be recycled runs from the wood forms for the concrete foundation to copper trim from the roof, and almost literally everything in between.”
St. Paul’s has expressed what Gundling says is a common criterion for construction site recycling: It should not add time or cost to the overall project budget. Gundling says the IRN addresses this concern by providing clear training to workers on the site, clearly labeling waste and recycling containers, and matching the containers on site to the specific tasks that are underway. “We ask employees to work a little bit smarter—not longer or harder,” says Gundling. “And we’re typically able to demonstrate that recycling can save 20, 30 or 40 percent of the cost of simply throwing materials away. Those are the kind of numbers that inspire great cooperation from everyone on the site.”
The St. Paul’s athletic center is one of the first projects in New Hampshire seeking recognition under the nationwide Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. LEED is a certification program of the U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, which recognizes efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of new and renovated buildings. Points toward LEED certification are awarded in such areas as energy reduction, use of renewable or locally produced building materials, and minimization of water use.
Construction materials recycling is one of the centerpieces of LEED certification, and St. Paul’s commitment to a 75 percent recycling rate ranks the school high in the LEED effort. The lead contractor on the project believes the goal is achievable, however.
“We initially thought that recycling in this range was beyond our capabilities,” says Kathy Miskoe, project manager for the Gilbane Building Co., Nashua, N.H., which is the construction manager for the athletic center. “But the IRN demonstrated that we can not only achieve this rate and achieve LEED points for our client, but reduce waste costs as well. It’s clearly a winning situation for all parties involved.”
St. Paul’s School is a prep school on a 2,000-acre campus founded in 1856 and with roots in the Episcopal Church.