After a recent move, and thanks to a savvy inspector, we quickly learned that we were in for some home repairs. It’s unfortunate that when the house was built, corners were cut and things didn’t get built according to plan. As you can imagine, this lead to some headaches and a whole lot of waste. The whole repair and renovation process had me thinking on more than one occasion: waste in the construction industry- time to think differently. Doing it right in the the first place should be the priority, but that is a whole other story.
We went from producing a small bag of waste per month to having a dumpster in our driveway with most of our garage ending up in it. Add to that all the small stuff that ended up in there; lunch recyclables, paintbrushes that may have been used once and plenty of other stuff that could have been diverted from the waste stream. I was discouraged so I decided to do some research on the subject to get better informed. The problem was even bigger than I thought, Globally, construction and demolition waste contributes to approximately 35 per cent of the waste produced…in the entire world!
35% of the waste produced world wide, I would say this is a huge opportunity for change.
No matter the problem these days, I often hear “ but what are we to do?”. Well, here are some ideas to get us started. But first let’s look at the problem a little closer.
Construction and demolition waste
Do you really need it?
This is an easy one and a great starting point, ask yourself: “do I really need it?”. I am not suggesting that you neglect your home and avoid repairs. This will create more waste in the long run. I also believe in making small spaces work for the long run with creative design and making the best with what you have. With that being said, closely evaluate what is a need and what is a desire.
Do you need some more help in this department? Check out this older post: Intention Before Impulse- Simply Buying Less but Better
Re-build it centres
As far as I am concerned, every community should have one and ideally they have adequate space to store the incoming materials. In an ideal world they could be set up like a building centre, but with left-over and used materials.
It can be truly amazing what you can find at these centres. What’s the saying “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure”? I certainly have been lucky enough to find some gems, like the brand new Restoration Hardware bathroom lighting for $5 dollars.
Re-build it centres are proving to be a great solution.
The power of social media
Do you have any construction materials you want to get rid of? This is where social media can be helpful. Yes I said it, “social media can be helpful” I often talk negatively about it but in this case, it’s put to good use. So many people are building something, you know, sheds, decks, additions, landscaping… Put it on a free page and it will be gone before you know it.
Deconstruction
Known around the industry as careful deconstruction or ethical dismantling. It’s where you manually dismantle a building or part of a building and you sell, re-use or give away as much as you can. Ideally you recycle the rest. This type of dismantling can divert so much from the landfill.
It certainly can be more time consuming, but I have heard of builders saying that it’s actually more cost effective. They said they just ended up paying people for the work instead of dumping fees. This sounds like a win-win to me.
Recycling
Recycling certainly isn’t my go-to solution for everything. I am well aware of the low rates of what actually gets recycled. Reduce and re-use before recycling.
In some cases though, it can be very effective. Lots of construction materials can be turned into something else. Think about it, so much time, work and resources were used to make it in the first place.
Waste in the construction industry- time to think differently
Whether it’s cleaning a paint brush so it can be re-used again and again or re-using old 2×4 for form building, with a bit of thought and foresight, so much waste can be avoided. Some things are so cheap these days that people don’t see the true cost of wasting them. Toss it and get another. This way of thinking doesn’t account for the toll it puts on our planet.
It’s time to think differently. It’s a win for the planet, a win for people and it can also be a win for the wallet.
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Thanks for reading,
Pat
Pat is a Ski Patroller/Avalanche Technician with a keen interest in design and sustainable living due to a longtime passion for the outdoors. Seeing glaciers melt, seasons change, summer skies full of smoke and beach pollution first hand, motivate him to make a difference.
As Yvon Chouinard Founder of Patagonia says “If you are not part of the solution, you are still part of the problem”.