The Price is Right

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

The survey, completed this spring, found that the recycling of all major C&D materials will save contractors and haulers money, with an especially impressive savings deriving from concrete and asphalt recycling.

The average cost to recycle material such as concrete rubble is $4.85 per ton versus 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.

The survey received comments from 63 companies. Several of the concrete and asphalt recyclers did not charge to dump clean, separated material at their sites, which is common in competitive recycling markets, according to William Turley, executive director of the Construction Materials Recycling Association. “This survey again shows that recycling C&D materials is usually the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly method of disposal,” Turley remarks.