Two of the state's high profile construction projects have committed to recycling construction waste and preserving the state's natural resources. Together, the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation's Weston 4 power plant near Wausau and UW Health American Family Children's Hospital in Madison have recycled over 9 million pounds of waste and have saved their projects over $193,000 by recycling and avoiding high disposal costs for dumping waste into landfills.

"These projects are diverting a significant amount of waste from Wisconsin's near-full landfills," Ralph McCall, project manager with WasteCap Wisconsin, who is overseeing the waste recycling programs for both projects, said. "Not only are they saving natural resources and saving money in avoided disposal costs, but they are setting an example by proving to the construction industry that construction waste recycling can be beneficial to your business and the environment."

The projects are recycling metal, wood, concrete, asphalt, cardboard, drywall and plastic. The wood recycling efforts alone have saved enough trees to build 87 houses. Recycling plastic has saved the equivalent of 4,300 gallons of gasoline, producing enough electricity used by a typical home over the course of 20 years, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

UW Heath American Family Children's Hospital and J.H. Findorff & Sons, the prime contractor on the project, have far exceeded their 50% recycling rate goal. The project is setting an example for large scale responsible waste management by recycling 84% of the waste generated on-site.

The $78 million, 252,000 square foot hospital will be a world-class pediatric health care facility solely dedicated to the care and treatment of children and their families, according to the hospital's website. Scheduled to open in the summer of 2007, the hospital will support full integration of clinical care, academic programs and research initiatives to produce a state-of-the-art enterprise not found elsewhere in the region. The hospital's commitment to recycling during construction is celebrating the connection between environmental health and patient health.

Wisconsin Public Service Corporation is a natural gas and electric utility serving northeastern and central Wisconsin and an adjacent portion of Upper Michigan. The Weston 4 power plant is expected to be operating in 2008 and will add 500 much-needed megawatts to the electric system, according to Wisconsin Public Service Corporation's website. Washington Group International, the prime contractor for the project, is building the $752 million power plant addition.

The project is currently achieving an 82% recycling rate and is working with WasteCap Wisconsin to create markets for the construction waste materials in the Wausau area.

WasteCap Wisconsin, a statewide nonprofit organization, is providing construction waste management services for both projects and monitoring their success.

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