
“The wood market took a dive at that time because they were no longer able to sell wood chips for biomass. In California, this market underwent a dramatic shift around 1995, according to Kelly Ingalls, senior management analyst for the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation’s Citywide Recycling Division. Of that amount, 90 to 95% is being burned as industrial fuel in place of sawdust, oil and tires.”īut the wood chip market has experienced some volatility. “Wood is the majority of the mass that would normally go to a dumpster. “In the single family, new construction sector, wood is our success story, with a 60% recycling rate,” says Jacobson. As a result, a great deal of wood has been recovered.

The city of Portland, Ore., for example, passed an ordinance in 1996 requiring that construction debris be recycled for any job over $50,000, according to Brice Jacobson at Metro Portland. And we don’t take anything chemically treated or painted.”Ĭlean construction scrap, on the other hand, is increasingly being recycled around the U.S. “We put a high tip fee on it, and if we get any we use it to cut the natural mulch for certain applications, such as outer ring parking lots at a mall. “We take very little demolition wood because it is hard to get rid of,” says Audrey Winzinger. Winzinger Recycling Systems, Hainsport, N.J., also processes wood such as tree stumps and branches into mulch. “On the other hand, Chicago is great,” he says. In some areas where there is a lot of virgin wood available and the population is not very dense, markets for recovered wood products are soft. “Demand is strong if your marketing efforts are good,” says Horst. processes forestry waste and tree service waste into a commercial mulch product. Waste Reduction Services, Crown Point, Ind. Markets for end products from recovered wood depend largely on a company’s own efforts, says Paul Horst, president of C.E.S. “I believe the market will stay stable and even grow in 1999,” he says. End users like the product as long as the price is right and it performs well, says Kallaf. The wood is ground and used for playgrounds, bedding, and other products, depending on the season. “The amount of materials coming in is growing every week, and we’ve been able to market everything we get,” he says.


Pallets and crates, construction scrap and tree service waste are generally easier to recycle than wood reclaimed from demolition.ĭavin Industries, Elk Grove Village, Ill., recycles mainly crates and pallets, according to Dan Kallaf, president. Wood waste is one of the largest segments of C&D debris, but markets are stronger for some types of wood than others. “At those times, smaller volume materials may not be economical to recycle.”
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“When disposal fees are high, processors can afford to have more manual sorters and more equipment, but when disposal fees are depressed, processors tend to go after the bigger, easier things that give the most bang for the buck,” says Bob Brickner, senior vice president of consulting firm Gershman, Brickner & Bratton Inc., Fairfax, Va. Significant amounts of C&D debris that are technically recyclable may be landfilled sometimes due to regional market conditions. Other commodities that may be recovered through C&D programs include old corrugated cardboard (OCC) and plastics, although markets for these materials are suffering at present. Programs to recover scrap shingles and gypsum are increasing but still in their early stages. However, the availability of nearby market outlets for individual C&D commodities, the relative cost of landfill tipping fees versus the cost to recycle the material, and the proximity of recovery plants versus landfills all play a role in determining how much C&D debris is recovered in a given region.Ĭrushed concrete and reclaimed asphalt have established themselves as the most frequently recycled debris types, followed by certain types of scrap wood. Because C&D debris is a bulky, high-volume stream, it is often targeted by municipalities and states looking to reduce landfill tonnage and increase recycling rates. Construction and demolition (C&D) debris recycling is a growing market, but one that is highly dependent on a variety of local factors.
