Construction & Demolition Debris Recycling

Links to Additional Resources

• Blue Book of Building and Construction. National publisher of regional directories for the building and construction trades and professions.
• Clean Washington Center. This site contains information on C&D management with numerous fact sheets, case studies, and resource listings.
• Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA). CMRA is the trade association devoted exclusively to the needs of the North American construction waste and demolition debris processing and recycling industry.
• INFORM, Inc. This site has an excellent report available titled Building for the Future: Strategies to Reduce Construction & Demolition Waste in Municipal Projects (1998). Topics discussed include asset management, developing a waste management plan, dedicated space design, deconstruction techniques, and material reuse.
• Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Managing Construction & Demolition Wastes. This website provides project planning tools, sample documents, and case studies highlighting techniques for saving money and protecting the environment through reuse and recycling of construction and demolition debris.
• Oikos. This site has information on green building sources, a resource library, a bookstore, a searchable database for green building products, and a green building mailing list in which leading professionals from around the world discuss all aspects of environmental responsibility in building design and construction.
• Renewable Energy Policy Project (formerly Solstice). A site containing information on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable technology information. Also contains many other links to related topics.
• U.S. EPA Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris website provides information and links to extensive resources and organizations covering the characterization, reduction, reuse, recycling and management of C&D debris.
• Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG). According to the site, “the WBDG is a web-based portal providing government and industry practitioners with one-stop access to up-to-date information on a wide range of building-related guidance, criteria, and technology from a 'whole buildings' perspective.”
• Whole House Building Supply & Salvage. This deconstruction and salvaging company sells quality building materials that have been donated or salvaged from homes and businesses. They also conduct house salvage sales at homes that are slated for demolition. There is also information on what items are salvageable and procedures for removal.
• The Whole House Recycling Project. This case study documents the economics of dismantling a 1,280-square-foot, two-story house in Portland, Oregon in 1993. An architect and a local demolition firm found that the hand labor required to dismantle the building for salvage was competitive with the cost of conventional demolition.

California Integrated Waste Management Board Programs & Resources

• Construction and Demolition Case Studies and Publications. Publications that provide information on alternatives to disposal that can save you money in avoided disposal fees and potentially generate income from the sales of salvageable materials can be found on this site.
• One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure. Would you like to consider a material exchange program either statewide or in your local area? Please take a look at the Board's CalMAX Materials Exchange and the local exchanges throughout the state.
• Share Your Success And Learn From Others. Learn from others and share your 'waste prevention' success by contributing to the Board's Waste Prevention Information Exchange.
• Zone-Related Assistance. Local business incentives may be found in the Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ) Program.

Note: You may also want to visit the Board's Sustainable/Green Building links page.