WasteCap Resource Solutions Launches New Online/Onsite Documentation Tool

WasteCap Resource Solutions Inc. has piloted an online/onsite construction waste recycling documentation tool in partnership with Buffalo’s Minority Contractors Alliance, at ABC-TV’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition deconstruction and rebuild project in the city.

“The launch of WasteCap’s innovative new TRACE technology in Buffalo is a step forward for making construction recycling an industry norm in America,” said Mayor Byron Brown. “The launch of this new green technology is an exciting development for Buffalo and creates new conditions for local, green job growth and economic development.”

The partnership between WasteCap and MCA, a first for the national recycling firm brokered by the Mayor’s Department of Economic Development, marks the first on-the-ground pilot of the new technology in the United States.

David Homes, Inc., the regional homebuilder that is constructing the new house at 228 Massachusetts Avenue for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, will use the documentation and measurement services from the partnership to verify portions of the new home’s “Certified Green Professional Designation” through the National Association of Homebuilders. It will be the first such green designation for any project in Buffalo and for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

WasteCapTRACE streamlines the entire recycling tracking and documentation process, allowing clients to monitor online their achievement of daily recycling rates compared to project goals. It is a simple, powerful, and effective online documentation program that tracks ongoing construction and demolition debris recycling and documents the results.

In the past, a waste hauler provided carbon copies of landfill dump receipts and weight tickets. Photos of segregated dumpsters were taken and later analyzed at a desk to determine volumes and weights. Receipts and manifests were collected from general and subcontractors and government regulators processed the data. All of the information was later complied into a report to the client to determine whether recycling goals were met and then submitted to a third party “green” certifying organization. With the launch of WasteCapTRACE, all of this can now be accomplished in real time through a website with field data able to be entered on site through a web-enabled PDA.

“Whatever the green certification,” said Jenna Kunde, executive director of WasteCap, “Third party certifications require accurate and verifiable documentation of materials a project claims to have diverted from the landfill.” TRACE gathers information required by certification programs and government regulators enabling construction contractors to comply with documentation requirements. It saves valuable time and resources on every project by reducing time spent calling haulers, tracking numbers, and calculating results.

Due to the great success of this effort during Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project, the city is considering applying the new construction waste recycling technology on a larger scale. Green deconstruction, the Mayor noted, may hold greater job opportunities as an alternative to conventional demolition. Market testing of the concepts that emerged from the pilot project will be closely evaluated by the City’s Department of Economic Development to explore opportunities at city demolition, construction, and rehabilitation projects citywide.