Save Money by Recycling

By Ralph McCall, Senior Project Manager, WasteCap Wisconsin

There has been a lot of talk lately about construction waste recycling. The City of Chicago requires it and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building standards provide points for it. The State of Wisconsin will soon require it on all its projects. Several leading Wisconsin contractors now routinely recycle on their projects.

But many builders want to know – will it cost more to recycle on a project than the normal way of dealing with waste?

That question was discussed during WasteCap Wisconsin’s Construction and Demolition Debris Recycling Training and Accreditation Program on February 22 at the ABC Winter Conference in Wisconsin Dells.

So how does a construction recycling program work? Can you really save money, or does it cost more to recycle?

Let’s look at two identical, theoretical building projects that illustrate the economics of construction waste recycling.

Project One generates 1,000 tons of waste and does not recycle. It sends all its waste to the landfill and pays $30 per ton in landfill fees to dispose of it. The cost of disposing of waste for Project One would be $30,000.

Project Two also generates 1,000 tons of waste but has decided to recycle the materials that are the most cost effective to recycle – cardboard, wood, metal and concrete. By recycling these four materials, Project Two is able to recycle 50 percent of its total waste. Project Two, also pays $30 per ton in landfill fees for the 500 tons of waste that it didn’t recycle. The cost of disposing waste for Project Two is $15,000. It pays nothing to dispose the 500 tons that it did recycle. In fact, Project Two receives $125 per ton for the 20 tons of metal it recycles, an income of $2,500.

The difference in costs between Project One, that didn’t recycle, and Project Two, that did recycle, is $17,500.

That is the basic economics of construction waste recycling. Every ton of waste that gets recycled reduces project costs, and every ton of recycled metal yields project income. Whether it’s a small or large project, the economics always work the same way. Every commercial building project saves money by recycling.

For more waste recycling, reusing and reduction news, read our current email bulletin at http://www.wastecapwi.org/bulletin_archive.htm.