Waukesha, WI - Bielinski Homes, a national leader in conservation development, has recently implemented the most aggressive home-building construction waste recycling program in Wisconsin to date. In a cooperative effort with its trade partners, Prairie Tree Landscape Center and WasteCap Wisconsin, the Waukesha-based homebuilder anticipates recycling up to 75 percent of previously discarded building materials.
"Bielinski recognizes the impact builders have on the environment, and is committed to the success of our recycling program," said Harry Bielinski, co-founder of Bielinski Homes.
Bielinski hopes to recover more than 25,000 cubic yards of material each year from Wisconsin landfills. Statistics show that there is more construction and demolition waste in Wisconsin's landfills than waste generated by private residences and businesses. Bielinski trade partners are joining in the effort by separating wood, drywall, cardboard, metal and masonry on site for reuse and recycling.
Prairie Tree Landscape was chosen as the contractor to collect, process and market each of the materials. The equipment used in the recycling program, a 750 Packer Industry grinder provided by Prairie Tree Landscape, is the main component of the recycling program.
"We will visit each building site every week so we can address any issues right away and ensure that subcontractors understand the program," said Jaime Stilling of Prairie Tree Landscape Center. "So far, the program has exceeded our expectations, and we are now able to serve Bielinski job sites on individual lots even outside of the Bielinski Communities."
The machine grinds the wood, masonry and drywall waste for use throughout the site; the wood into mulch, the masonry as aggregate placed under the driveways and the drywall into gypsum (for soil conditioning). As a result of Prairie Tree's efforts, Bielinski is the only residential contractor in the state that is grinding drywall to be reused directly on site to help build soils.
WasteCap Wisconsin, a non-profit organization that provides waste reduction and recycling assistance to businesses, was contracted by Bielinski to work with regulatory authorities and to monitor, measure and document results of construction waste management efforts. Jenna Kunde, executive director of WasteCap Wisconsin, is pleased with Bielinski's leadership.
"We have helped contractors across Wisconsin reuse and recycle their construction debris, and we congratulate Bielinski for their leadership in their aggressive recycling program," said Kunde. "Most of the work to reuse and recycle construction and demolition debris in Wisconsin is on commercial projects. This effort may truly change the way construction waste from home building sites is handled in the area and across Wisconsin."
As a result of a cooperative program between Bielinski, Prairie Tree and WasteCap Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has approved the use of engineered lumber for recycling on the Bielinski home sites. Work to expand this approval to all home builders is under way. In addition, the Department of Commerce has approved the use of silt socks (socks stuffed with wood mulch to prevent run-off and erosion) on sites in place of silt fences that are not recyclable.
