Strategies for Segregating Wood
at Construction Sites

Material:  Wood Waste

Issue:  Construction sites generate dozens of different wastes. When scrap wood has a discreet market, separators can consolidate and market wood waste. Separators might prefer to reduce possible contamination by using a particular method to segregate the wood waste from the other components at the construction site.

Best Practice:  Several different wood-segregation or waste-collection systems are available. The following matrix includes specific approaches for wood-waste management at construction sites.

Management System	Operations
Personal on-site integrated recycling and haul program. The program handles all recyclables and separately handles garbage.	On-site:  source-separation, loading, quality-control, container provision, shipping, and marketing of recyclables, and haul and disposal of garbage Out-sourced:  None
Personal full recycling programs.	On-site:  source-separation, construction-site loading, container provision, quality-control, and shipping and marketing of all recyclables Out-sourced:  Contractors hire separately for hauling (including container provision) and disposal of garbage
Construction-site recycling activity.	On-site:  source-separation, loading, quality-control Out-sourced: Shipping (including container provision) and marketing of all recyclables. Hire separately for hauling (including container provision) and disposal of garbage.
Recyclers or haulers hired to haul commingled loads of waste.	On-site:  None Out-sourced:  Recyclers or haulers haul from the construction site to a material recovery facility (MRF) for construction and demolition, where personnel sort all recyclables from garbage. The MRF personnel then markets the recyclables and dispose of the garbage.
Construction-site recycling activity for wood waste only.. Contractors could also implement construction-site recycling activity for metal, concrete, drywall, roofing waste, salvaged products, or any other limited type(s) of recycled products along with wood waste.	On-site:  source-separation, loading, quality-control Out-sourced: Shipping (including container provision) and marketing of wood waste. Separately hire for hauling (including container provision) and disposal of any garbage commingled with unsorted recyclables
Construction contractors do not recycle.	On-site:  None Out-sourced: Hire garbage companies to haul and dispose of garbage commingled with unsorted recyclables.

Also, companies that provide specialty service to construction sites can provide full-site recycling service. These companies provide quality-control requirements, containers, pick-up, shipping, marketing, and an itemized billing of all recyclables. The construction contractor hires separately for hauling (including container provision) and disposal of garbage. The company containers are especially designed for maneuverability, easily insert into a wide variety of site locations, and rapidly pick-up and replace when they become full. They recycle the full range of all recyclables in the construction waste stream, handling each source separation.

Another practice gaining popularity is out-sourcing full-site waste management, which includes recycling and garbage disposal, to a hired recycler or hauler. This subcontracting arrangement requires that the service crew completely removes all the discarded waste materials during routine visits to the construction site. This removal separates designated wood materials for marketing. Typically, this service markets a price per square foot to residential home builders.

Implementation:  The unique services described above are might not be everywhere. The significant hold that roll-off box and containerized-businesses have upon the marketplace causes this shortage. Smaller contractors or new entrepreneurs looking to create a niche in the marketplace tend to develop alternate programs. Both options require a base-load of customers to justify offering the service.

However, many of the larger construction contractors are still very comfortable with the commingled waste pick-up service of the roll-off box providers. The increasing number of mixed construction and demolition waste-processing facilities will influence how the commingled MRF system that handles residential recyclables will separate the mixed loads from roll-off boxes. Thus, wood-waste processors will need to verify the regional availability of different type of collection services available in the region. They will need to call either local contractors, regional suppliers of waste collection or recycling services.

Several general “how-to” guides have been published that provide contractors with forms and formats to make material estimates and cost comparisons of the offered services. Reviewers must focus on the actual projections of generated waste materials and the realistic options for handling or disposal. The key variables needing to be reviewed include:

·   Appropriateness of estimating methodology for materials and costs,

·   Realism of product marketability and actual values of materials.

·   Actual recycling or waste-management program requirements of the project specifications or local regulations, and

·   Complete understanding of the interface between the construction project and any segregation or waste-collection program (e.g., space, timing, construction-site management, etc.)

Benefits:  The construction-site source-separation systems allow selective collection of wood waste without excessive contamination or interference with job flow. In contrast, the roll-off box collection system operates in concert with a large commingled tipping floor at a mixed construction and demolition waste processing facility. The potential value of source-separated wood in the marketplace versus the local disposal costs provides the economic incentive to consider one of these innovative collection systems.

Application Site:  This Best Practice applies to wood-waste generation sites.

Contact:    For more information about this Best Practice, contact CWC,
(206) 443-7746, e-mail info@cwc.org.

References: 

1.       Brickner Robert. Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. Falls Church, VA.

2.       Clements, Steve. CornerStone Material Recovery, Inc. McHenry, IL.

3.       Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. “What’s in a building.” Demolition Age. October, 1993. Falls Church, VA.

4.       “Recycling debris from construction projects.” BioCycle. August 1992.

5.       Yost, Peter. National Association of Home Builders Research Center, MD.

Issue Date / Update:  March 1997