Not All Construction Material Needs to Go to Waste!

In general, much of the waste that you need to get rid of will go to a landfill. However, this isn’t the case with everything. For instance, in order to reduce the expensive and time-consuming process of sourcing raw materials, many forms of construction waste can be recycled!

Gypsum and Concrete
As you may know from one of our previous articles, gypsum is the mineral that acts as the raw material for drywall. When sent to a gypsum recycling plant, dismantled drywall is broken down into its raw mineral ingredients through separation from the outer paper layer and further processing. Contaminants are removed and the gypsum is ready for the manufacture of new panels. Meanwhile, concrete that is suitable for recycling is often crushed down in several stages and separated from metal material such as rebar so that it can be reproduced as a dry aggregate for new concrete.

Timber
Another commonly recycled construction material is timber. We all know that wood products are utilized in various ways throughout homes and other buildings, but many forms can be suitable for recycling once they’ve been dismantled. The process itself varies widely, but commonly involves denailing, re-milling, sawing, shredding, and other forms of preparation or reduction. It’s typically not feasible to sort distinct forms of timber from one another, so the resulting products are often mixtures of many different types. Examples of products include animal bedding, chipboard, landscaping materials, and more.

Wire & Aluminium
If gypsum, concrete, and timber can be reprocessed for new products, you’d probably guess that materials like metal wiring and aluminium can too. Whether working on a home improvement project or a professional job site, metal is everywhere. Scrap wire often needs to be stripped of its coating in large quantities and reduced using wire granulators. Scrap aluminium without contaminants is often shredded and crushed as well. All reusable metals are typically melted down at the final stage of their cycle to become new products for various construction and industrial applications.

If you expect to accumulate large quantities of these items when working on your project, you may want to consider the Economy Waste Recycling Program. We can provide specialized, reduced-rate bins for materials that can be reused, so call (587) 813-0215 to find out more!