Having a difficult time finding companies that recycle building materials in north east ohio. Any suggestions for resources or organizations that can help?
Having a difficult time finding companies that recycle building materials in north east ohio. Any suggestions for resources or organizations that can help?
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Replies
hello...
I'm encouraged that you are looking.. but I was going to be (or still might be) surprised if you got a response. By saying this.. I may also have bumped your post so that it is around a little longer. Good Luck.
arthur
I can't help you, because I am on the west coast.
But a quick question that might help someone else to answer you...
Are you just looking for a dumpster type company that is not wasteful, or are you looking to be paid for your "recyclables" ??
=0)
I am looking for a company that recycles building materials versus sending them to the landfill.
Are you 'just' looking for "a company that recycles building materials versus sending them to the landfill", because you do not want the materials wasted...Or are you looking for "a company that recycles building materials versus sending them to the landfill", because you want to be remunerated for your "recyclables" ??
H T R J
What kind of construction materials are you talking about.For things like large piece of lumber, doors, cabinets, fixtures etc Restore will take a lot of them. But each one differes.http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restore_detail.aspx?place=53.
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
On our job site I handle these issues and here is my experience. Your best option for saving money and the environment is to have a very diligent, energized, laborer who you have explained and they understand the cost savings in completely filling/stacking a dumpster top to bottom, front to back when possible to get the most use from it. And smash it with a skytrak every now and than.
We keep 1 - 2 30yard dumpsters on site depending on the activity going on or where they need to be located out of the way for other work. Generally one under the 5 story trash chute and one at the ground floor main entrance to wheel out into.We got a deal at $350 flat rate per load.
If your main concern is environmental, another company in our town will haul the same dumpster for $500 a piece and they dump them in a warehouse and sort them out by hand, economical no, enviro yes.
The best of both worlds on my site has been we also keep a 30yd. cardboard dumpster on site when feasible (Not in the way of cranes, sitework, etc..) For these dumpsters they only charge 120$ a load instead of the $350.
Than for wood, don't put pallets in the dumpsters until they are topped out and lay them across the top of the dumpster when ready to haul out. I tried having a wood only dumpster on site but we only got a $100 savings per can and couldn't throw out any manufactured or painted wood, MDF, Plywood, etc... So that leaves mainly pallets and tonnage. I spent 8hrs. with a chain saw chopping pallets to fill the bin and at $100 savings it isn't a savings. We set aside all hard wood tonnage/stickers and staked them on site. Being in a cold climate we had no trouble getting rid of a flat bed semi worth as guys took it to use at home in wood burners.
As for the pallets I contacted several pallet salvagers. My best response was they would pay $4-$10 depending on condition only for standard 4'x4' fourway entry pallets and charge $2 to take any other pallets. I told them I have 2 semi trailers worth of pallets and honestly don't know what is out there, they are all mixed and would they be willing to just take all of them and not pay me or charge me for any and we would load them on site. Wouldn't do it. I even contacted a local maple syrup farm that burns scrap in their boilers with the same offer and got no response despite most of the pallets being hardwood.
So again the best solution for the wood is to give away hardwood, and don't put crates or pallets in the dumpster until they are broke down or put on top flat since they don't crush well and take up to much volume.
Metal is where you gain the most ground. We keep a 30yd. metal only dumpster next to the dumpster at the trash chute. On each floor we keep a large palletized crate at the window opening for trash and as things get tossed the guys put any metal in the bin by the window. Than when those bins are full or the regular trash dumpster is being changed we swing the chute to the metal dumpster and empty each floors bin that way.
Doing this we have scraped out over 25tons of metal, not including any copper or aluminum. The salvage company places the dumpster and charges around $75-150 per load hauled but take that amount off the top of what they pay us for the scrap. That's the best part they pay us for our trash! Depending on weight and metal prices we have received between $200-$450 profit on each can. So far with this method we have made about $2,500 cash tax free than add in the savings of each 30yd can that leaves the site in this way dosen't cost the $350 as trash so we're really like $4,000 net.
I do know you can also save ALOT on recycling drywall since it's the item most thrown out on site, so if you get a discounted dumpster rate for drywall only that's a ton of material not going out as trash but it is not offered in our area.
When trying to learn all this for use on my site I also looked at that "green" company (waste management) and the prices they offered discounted by having individual wood, cardboard, metal, dumpster where not offset by the higher price on the trash dumpster and they wouldn't pay us for the metal they hauled out. What I discovered is they don't do all their own services, they contract with local specialized recyclers for the other containers. so you are better off finding them on your own and using the cheapest trash dumpster as efficiently as you can. Which will mean climbing in a couple times a day and restacking material to fill every void.
So the short answers are if you just want to be green pay more and find a company that hauls one can and sorts it on their own.
If you're trying to be economical and environmental than go with the cheapest trash hauler in your area. A cardboard dumpster makes sense as they usually are discounted the most and it's amazing how long you can keep smashing cardboard into it versus the space used by a single box in the bottom of a dumpster that won't crush down in the same way. Explore options in your area for drywall. Give away hardwood if your in a cold climate. Depending on price and your area you may be able to have a wood dumpster that accepts treated lumber, plywood etc... and might be worth it in your case. Contact a scrap yard for you're metal they always like getting almost totally clean metal from new construction like studs, pipe, and rebar instead of a refrigerator containing plastic that they pay the same by weight on, plus you will definitely win.
Hope this extensive explanation is able to do for you what it has on our site, without the research.
check out the directory of companies at http://www.buildingreuse.org
But a quick question that might help someone else to answer you...
That is a good question to ask.
Made me realize I could not start such a company in my own county.
The sticking point would be TCEQC, I'd not be allowed to let rainwater percolate through any of the materials.
Hmm, I wonder how many counties I'd have to be "over" to find one less strict . . . Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
This is the company doing the demolition recycling for the current TOH project in Austin, TX. They take the dumpster to their lot, dump it and then sort and recycle as much as possible. Links on their site might get you to someone similar in your area.
http://www.texasdisposal.com/
-Norm
In my area most of the Dumpsters are green........colored.
In Philly, a company called Construction Waste Management provides us with regular dumpsters, but also takes wood, drywall, pvc, as well as regular recyclables.Rates for wood, drywall, etc. are cheaper then regular rates for dumpingKenny
I've seen commercials for a company called Waste Management that have a green tone. Not that it'll suit your needs, but it's worth a shot.
http://www.wm.com/
You can do a zip code lookup for recycling to see what's in your area.
Different part of Ohio (southeast), but they may know somebody and seem to be doing something similar:
http://www.reuseindustries.org/
Edited 3/9/2007 9:15 pm ET by NatW
I am in akron, ohio.
untill about a year ago we had ONE place like this-------but the city shut them down.
In theory, Summit Tranfer and Recycling( I think that was the name)------accepted shingles, lumber, masonry rubbble, brush etc. you had to pay---to dump it.
they ground up the shingles--ran the mess through a magnet to seperate out the nails----and sold the ground up waste as paving base.
lumber and brush etc. was composted.
Technically they were NOT a landfill------merely a storage and transfer facility.----Stuff was to come into the site--be processed--and then sold back out of the site.
It was really just a mom and pop organization---just 3 people or so working there. the piles ---grew into mountains---not much ever moved OUT. I don't think they really had the manpower to go out and develope markets for their product.--- originally the city licensed them to pile debris---say x high-----then a few years later changed it to 2x high--later 3 x high and so forth------then they shut them down.
I have been told 2 competing stories on WHY they were shut down
1) the mayor is buddies with Eslich Wrecking--which runs the competing landfill in Norton-- what was good for Summit transfer----was NOT good for Eslich------personally I don't subscribe to this theory
2) my personal favorite--and HIGHLY likely--if you get out a map------------
the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath---runs within a few FEET of this facility. this towpath is a multi use--bike,hike path running from cleveland--to zoar---- I bike on it myself almost every day, 8-9 months a year. the section by the closed facility---is about to be opened to the public within a year or so
can't have the public bicycling through a landfill/ recycling facility.
It's a shame-- the people running the operation were very nice---it WAS a good idea--if not well executed---and the location was HIGHLY convenient for ME, personally.
If you find another facility nearby--- I would CERTAINLEY like to learn about it--and use it myself---- I used the recently shut one for about 10 years---as long as it was open.
good Luck, stephen
Stephen
That is very common for recycle companies. Undercapitalized. Worried about getting "enough" in the front door and not getting it out the back door. There have been at least 3 sheetrock recycle collection places in Portland over the years. I think all of them have ended with a BIG pile of sheetrock in a barn.
The deal is this stuff is heavy. Real heavy. So transportation costs. A lot. I think the people that get in think about getting paid in the front door and then thier attention laspes on the disposal. Then pretty soon it costs so much to truck it out that they just quit the disposal. Just get it in the front door till the lights get shut off. Or AHJ shuts em down.
Markets for recyclables go in cycles. Las summer the wood market was awful. Price of lumber was high. So a lot of timber being cut. Lot of building going on, so lots of wood scrap too. The industrial facilities that chip or buy wood product for hog fuel got overloaded. Shut off accepting waste. Now almost a year later they are offering to buy the wood waste from us.
I think what the OP is looking for is a Material Recovery facility (MRF). We use a couple. Essentially debris gets dumped on the sort floor. Then the recyclables are pulled out. Either on a pick line or in a floor sort. Recyclables get sold, (you hope) and remainders go to a landfill.
Cost to dump at the MRF is about 12-20% higher than a C&D landfill. Recycle rate should be about 90% ish.
since you mentioned a "sort line" you jogged my memory.
actually--there might be one in downtown Akron( towpath runs right past this one also----but it is primarily indoors.)
I will have to talk to a friend about that one----he is in some kind of sales/management there.
It used to be known as the recycle energy plant-----they heat most of downtown with steam
I don't know how close you are to Cleveland, but this place recycles the materials they pick up. http://www.tubsinc.com/cleveland.html
They're in Minneapolis as well, and I've used them a couple times. Their containers are pretty small, if that's a concern.