Jackie Thompson
By the year 2025, a report from Transparency Market Research states that waste volume generated from construction sites will nearly double to 2.2 billion tons. It mainly includes materials from demolitions, excavations and roadworks. However, building materials such as concrete, unused or damaged wood, steel, drywall, clay, and ceramic tiles, asphalt and shingles, still constitute the more significant portion of annually generated construction waste. Putting into consideration that every year, 1.3 billion tons of solid waste comes from the development of human settlements, these products can be recycled to form durable, cheap and green building materials for reuse—a great example on sustainability and mitigating environmental impacts which arise from solid waste.
Importance of Waste Reduction from Construction Projects
Through reducing waste from your construction projects, your business can benefit massively. The benefits include being in a position to comply with the waste legislation such as controlling of toxic waste. By doing so, you’re able to meet your legal construction requirements quickly. Committing to reducing the amount of waste to landfill, as in the case of San Francisco’s initiatives is also an essential element. It is an open to choice consensus within the construction industry as a target to adopt the right practices in waste reduction and recycling.
Impact on Project Cost
Using materials more productively and advancing the efficiency of your workers will reduce the amount of waste you need to dispose of and generally cut your operational costs. Lower risks of pollution occurrence, reduced use of natural resources and lower carbon dioxide discharges, all come as environmental benefits of reducing construction waste. As a home builder or real estate developer, new homes require purchasing lots, designing homes and making a sale to clients, and you can increase your profits by committing to using sustainable materials. Alternatively, in case of renovations, you can earn revenue from reclaimed building parts by having control over demolition procedures. It will help you sort out different building materials into either recycling, reusing, disposing of or landfilling.
Building Materials from Waste Products
Recycling used materials and waste into reusable products is an important part of the construction process, including a reduction in the need for raw materials and energy, and a decrease in air and water pollution. For instance, used sanitary products can be recycled to form lightweight roofing tiles by separating organic waste from synthetic organic material to create fiber-based construction materials. Glass products such as beer and wine bottles can be reused to form brick shaped interlocking design according to a practice introduced in the 1960s by Heineken beer company. Polished concrete surfaces and terrazzo also use recycled multi-colored broken glass. Newspapers, magazines and cardboard boxes are recycled to wood similar to a log. It is then cut into desired sizes and can build anything wooden.
Waste materials are a crucial environmental problem, and they pose a threat to our environment. It is therefore essential to recycle and reuse these materials to reduce the need for waste disposal. It is only through recycling that you can guarantee sustainability and meaningful use of available resources. Hopefully, with further exploration and commitment, we can look to a future in construction where the majority of materials are recycled.