Fabric structures help provide environmentally friendly and economical solutions for waste management building challenges.
By Amanda Williams
Waste management facilities require large scale processing plants that must also meet environmental regulations. To meet these needs, fabric structures are a growing solution for waste management facilities. Fabric buildings cover waste and harmful materials, which helps to avoid contamination of the surrounding ecosystem. Additionally, fabric structures have helped businesses save money and create a protected, greener and more efficient product.
Covering waste helps businesses protect these materials and keeps them dry, allowing waste to be processed more efficiently. Recycling metals and plastics is an easier process when materials are dry and free of biological waste. Fabric structures provide an ideal environment and meet environmental regulations that minimize their impact on neighbors, helping communities stay clean.
Just because tight regulations exist on waste management companies, does not mean that a business should suffer high-cost solutions. Fabric structures help facilities save money and improve waste management operation quality, but there are many more benefits that accompany the use of fabric structures.
Spacious Interiors
Managing waste under a covered structure requires high clearance and an unobstructed space for machinery and equipment to move freely without damaging the structure. A spacious overhead and lack of interior support columns allow facilities to load and unload waste materials efficiently and with freedom to maneuver. The open interior of many fabric buildings ensures maximum useable space for configuring stockpiles in the most efficient manner and increases equipment maneuverability.
The space inside a fabric structure allows users to discover new purposes for a building. Many fabric building owners find that their structures serve multiple unforeseen purposes, like storing trucks and equipment out of the weather. Keeping machines inside when they are not in use can minimize maintenance repairs and promote improved operation and a longer life.
Fabric Cover
High-quality fabric covers are often made of completely recyclable material that is capable of handling heavy snow loads and weather challenges. Many companies offer fabric buildings that are covered with translucent fabric. This allows natural light to filter through, and this cuts down on the need for artificial lighting during the day. Companies that integrate a fabric structure into their operations are able to significantly reduce their monthly utilities costs.
Translucent fabric, which is found in some companies, allows in natural light, which cuts down on the artificial lighting costs of traditional indoor facilities. In addition to allowing in natural light, fabric structures help to control and contain the odors of waste management facilities that can be bothersome to neighbors. Offensive odors of biological waste and loose trash are two issues within communities regarding their waste management facilities. Federal regulations require nutrient management programs to prevent and control contamination of local water sources.
Foundation and Construction
One of the most attractive qualities of top-of-the-line fabric structures is that although they are considered temporary and can be moved from job to job, they are strong enough to be permanent with a variety of foundations. Constructing a fabric structure is quick and easy compared to building traditional processing facilities. Some companies can install fabric structures over existing containers and easily remove them if the facility needs to be mobile.
Fabric buildings can be built to nearly any size and detail, and they allow for easy expansion when the time comes to grow your business. The amount of waste produced by communities is remarkable, and any facility set on managing that waste should anticipate needing to expand their buildings and businesses, especially in growing communities.
Saving money on building costs can really help an expanding waste management facility. Traditional buildings come at a high cost and lack flexibility in application. This is why tensioned fabric structures are becoming an attractive alternative. Fabric covered buildings can be a cost-effective way to protect materials and equipment from the elements, while saving on major excavation jobs required for traditional foundations. With all of these advantages, fabric structures are a great solution to economically upgrade physical plants.
Real Businesses, Real Solutions
Many waste management and recycling facilities pride themselves on green practices and environmental consciousness. Businesses like these would benefit from a clean, state-of-the-art indoor facility. Choosing the right company can save on overall cost and construction time, and some of the best building companies provide support that makes all the difference.
Covering waste management facilities only leads to benefits for companies, communities and the environment. Safe and efficient facilities are desired to improve waste management businesses, which makes fabric structures an ingenious solution for this industry. Having an economical waste management facility in a community can help save citizens on transporting massive amounts of waste to a farther facility. Additionally, these structures help to keep garbage debris contained from blowing around the neighborhood. Fabric structures help provide environmentally friendly and economical solutions for waste management building challenges.
For more information, call (866) 643-1010, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.clearspan.com.
Fabric Structures in Action
Iowa Waste Systems and the people of Kansas City, MO experienced first-hand the benefits of using a fabric structure for waste management.
Iowa Waste Systems
Iowa Waste Systems (IWS) has specialized in providing recycling services to customers since 1996. As one of three privately owned sanitary landfills in the state, IWS needed a new structure to be a cost-effective waste transfer station. The shareholder responsible for choosing their company’s fabric building saw a major opportunity in adding an affordable structure to the business. He said, “A landfill site takes in about 10,000 tons of waste per year and the cost of building a new landfill cell every three to five years well exceeds over a million dollars. It only made economical sense to choose a fabric building for the facility, because it is a long-term solution for a fraction of the typical cost.”
Choosing a fabric structure was easy for shareholder Dave Kratz. Kratz chose ClearSpan Fabric Structures, because the simple design of the building created a superior structure and made the company operations more efficient. “Our cost of daily operation has dropped significantly since owning our fabric structure. We no longer have to cover the waste daily with dirt, we use less fuel and we have been able to do business with two less pieces of equipment and operate with one less employee.” Minimizing labor costs and time is a saving grace in any operation. Not only has the business been able to save money and become more efficient, but they also have found that their ClearSpan building eliminates wind-blown litter.
Kansas City Bottles
In Kansas City, MO, residents were throwing away 150 million pounds of glass every year. The city realized the need for a curbside glass recycling facility, which arose as residents and local businesses owners discovered that only about 5 percent of their glass waste was being recycled. This was because Kansas City had no local glass processor. A local brewery contributed to the high volume of non-recycled glass waste, and found support with other local residents and businesses to start a recycling center. The goal of this facility would be to process glass to sell locally in the form of a furnace-ready cullet, to be turned into fiberglass. But recycling comes with responsibilities to the ecosystem, and after starting their facility, the city decided to look into fabric structures to help address the need to cover the untreated glass in order to prevent it from escaping into the Missouri River. The ClearSpan fabric structure was constructed right over the already existing glass containers, eliminating the arduous task of moving stockpiles of trash. The structure in Kansas City was designed with one open wall to allow easy access of machines, vehicles and moving of materials. Adding a fabric structure to their citywide glass recycling program has been exponentially successful as more residents are now contributing to recycling practices.