Tracking, Training, and Promoting Zero Waste for Contractors and Builders

July 16, 2013

This article continues our “Steps toward Zero Waste for Contractors and Builders” series, with a discussion of: tracking progress toward zero waste in C&D, employee and subcontractor training, and green marketing.

Our zero waste C&D series has presented a “roadmap” for builders and contractors on moving towards zero waste for construction and demolition projects. Zero waste is a path that can lead to savings and profit. 

Zero waste does not actually mean “zero waste,” as some think.  Instead it is a goal and en route to that goal, great change and value can be achieved. And, contractors can realize cost reductions by following this path.  Zero waste in construction and remodeling projects focuses on looking for opportunities:

• Generating less waste by using materials more efficiently – saves money;
• Reusing materials on site, or selling or donating them to someone else for reuse – cost containment, potential revenues or tax benefits; and
• Recycling whenever possible – might save you money and could even bring in revenue.

Zero waste in construction and remodeling is a win-win proposition, and not as hard to do as you might think.

Tracking

Include in the Plan a system for tracking the materials set aside for reuse offsite, reused onsite, recycled, handled as hazardous waste, and managed as regular trash. Tracking is important for many reasons, including:

• Cost containment – being sure you pay only for the services you use
• LEED points – if you are seeking LEED certification, then tracking reuse and recycling will be essential
• Regulatory compliance – if there are laws that pertain to the management of any of the materials, tracking will be essential to document regulatory compliance. And, documentation will likely be a regulatory requirement itself.
• Evaluating the success of the waste minimization program and having data available to prove the effectiveness of your project to future customers.
• Using the data to calculate the environmental impacts of your actions: energy saved, greenhouse gas emissions avoided, and solid and hazardous waste avoided.12

There are a number of methods for tracking weight or volume, destination, and end–uses of all reused and recycled materials. In addition, there are online tools such as WasteCapTRACE, which assists with tracking ongoing construction and demolition debris recycling and documents the results.

Education for Employees & Subcontractors

Planning is only valuable if the strategies detailed within it are implemented. On the jobsite, this means that all employees and subcontractors need to be aware of the Plan, how it affects their responsibilities, what expectations there are, and how they will benefit from implementation of the Plan.  Therefore, the Plan needs to detail how this education and buy-in will be implemented. At a minimum, the following actions should be included:

• The contractor will be required to inform subcontractors about the requirements of the Waste Management Plan and will supply all subcontractors with the specifications and recycling plan, which will explain how to handle recyclable materials used by their specific trade.
• Any contractors/subcontractors that are working on a fixed-price contract need to be made aware of the Waste Management Plan before bidding the job, in case it is determined that compliance will create increased labor costs.
• The general contractor’s site superintendent will be available to answer questions and assist in maintaining the re-use and recycling plan.
• All employees will have the Plan explained to them and what their responsibilities are.
• The materials to be reused and recycled will be explained to all employees and subcontractors.
• The locations for storing materials to be reused or recycled will be clearly identified and pointed out to all employees and subcontractors.

Signage is important. Signage about what goes where, and what shouldn’t go there, is important to ensure that what is planned happens, but signage has another role as well. Employees on a jobsite that are reusing and recycling are generally proud of what is taking place and their part in it.  Boasting about what is being accomplished boosts moral and encourages ongoing participation. Consider signage that reports back to the jobsite what has been achieved. For example, 100 tons of metal recycled to date, etc.  This can also be an important public relations tool for you as the community will also see what is being accomplished.

Marketing Your Business as Green

After all the work you put in to developing and implementing the Waste Management Plan, and achieving the waste reduction, reuse, and recycling goals, use it to your advantage. Consider pursuing LEED certification for your projects, promote your business as “green”, and use press releases to boast about your accomplishments.   You can use the data you collected through tracking to prove you made a difference.

You can also measure and boast about the environmental benefits of the jobsite reuse and recycling program by plugging the material tonnages into the US Environmental Protection Agency’s. This information can be used in any marketing materials developed to promote the project.

Learning More

There are workshops and training courses available to the construction trade for those that are interested in learning more about reuse and recycling on the jobsite. In particular, WasteCap Recycling Solutions is a national leader in offering accredited reuse and recycling training for construction and demolition projects, and the Green Building Council, the owner of the LEED program, also offers many courses.

NERC’s new Moving towards Zero Waste & Cost Savings –A Roadmap for Builders & Contractors for Construction & Demolition Projects takes it a step further to offer a roadmap toward “zero waste.”

By Lynn Rubinstein