The Singer building was one of the worlds most beautiful examples of urban architecture – now it is an example of poor historic preservation.
Category Archives: Waste News
Repurposing Single-Use Products in the Construction Industry | INN
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, approximately 11 million tons of asphalt roofing shingles are disposed of each year, contributing to over a million tons of waste produced by the roofing industry and companies are increasingly looking for methods to both offset their carbon footprint from re-using single-use products and find environmentally-friendly sourced products for their businesses. Landfills across North America are already over-crowded. Single-use asphalt shingles do not biodegrade or decompose and will sit in landfills for hundreds of years.
Source: Repurposing Single-Use Products in the Construction Industry | INN
Carmichael Tower East implosion – YouTube
Vanderbilt University conducted a controlled implosion of Carmichael Towers East on Saturday morning.
Local hazards grow as Americans churn out more garbage, United States News & Top Stories – The Straits Times
More than 90 per cent of the 230,000 tons of construction waste ReEnergy accepted in 2019 came from out-of-state, according to its annual report. After processing, ReEnergy said it sent 93 per cent of the imported trash to the Juniper Ridge landfill, which while owned by the state is operated by a private company, New England Waste Service of Maine, a subsidiary of Casella Waste Systems. Casella collects a “tipping fee” from ReEnergy for taking its waste. Fees for construction and demolition debris vary, but range from US$33 to US$95 per ton, according to the state’s environmental agency.
A moment before they were destroyed, they could be seen again | Amanda Williams | UNIQLO ARTSPEAKS – YouTube
Forgotten sections of Chicago’s south side Englewood neighborhood are, however briefly, made visible again by members of the community.
600,000 Tonnes of Floor Covering Goes to Landfill Each Year in UK – What Can We Learn from Holland? – YouTube
600,000 Tonnes of Floor Covering Goes to Landfill Each Year in UK – What Can We Learn from Holland?
Brookhaven residents: We don’t want to become ‘garbage capital’ | Newsday
Gershow Recycling Corp. is asking Brookhaven Town for approvals to build a waste transfer station near Long Island Rail Road tracks. Credit: Barry Sloan
“Any sustainable waste plan must include efforts to actually bring down waste,” said Abena Asare of Brookhaven hamlet, a member of the Brookhaven Landfill Action & Remediation Group. The community group supports alternatives to landfills that they say disproportionately are sited in minority and low-income communities.
Source: Brookhaven residents: We don’t want to become ‘garbage capital’ | Newsday
Treasures saved during a life of demolition | Stuff.co.nz
“It’s too good to throw away.”
Source: Treasures saved during a life of demolition | Stuff.co.nz
3D printed house: Builders say the method will reduce new home construction costs – CNN
SQ4D’s completed proof of concept and demo home. SQ4D says it is the world’s largest permitted 3D printed home at 1,900 square feet.
“The cost of construction is 50% cheaper than the cost of comparable newly-constructed homes in Riverhead, New York, and 10 times faster,” said Stephen King, the Zillow Premier agent who has the 3D house listing. The 3D printed house will include 1,407 square feet of living space and will be built with concrete.
Source: 3D printed house: Builders say the method will reduce new home construction costs – CNN
Mann Case Sets Precedent For Building Material Reuse Tax Charitable Valuation
be responsible and protect ecological environment, GETTY
If you are donating a “whole house” the house will be relocated off your property. Otherwise you are donating pieces of the house. Material destroyed in the deconstruction is not part of what you get credit for in valuing your deduction.
Source: Mann Case Sets Precedent For Building Material Reuse Tax Charitable Valuation
What happens to all the material after the Super Bowl?
“I know it might seem small to you but to get two pallets of napkins I’m not gonna have to buy napkins for two years from the Salvation Army and we serve more than 300 meals a day,” said Captain Andy Miller, the area commander of the Salvation Army in Tampa.
Source: What happens to all the material after the Super Bowl?
Colorado grant opportunities provide funding for recycling projects – Construction & Demolition Recycling
This option focuses on reduction and diversion of construction and demolition waste, including gypsum wallboard, treated wood, reclaimed asphalt shingles, carpet tiles and construction plastics. The RFA has more information.
National circular economy hub to lead way in UK bid to create a sustainable future | Mirage News
“By effecting a step change in how we use and reuse resources, the move to a circular economy will deliver major environmental and economic benefits and is an essential element of making net zero a reality.”
Source: National circular economy hub to lead way in UK bid to create a sustainable future | Mirage News
How to reuse or recycle Christmas trees in Philadelphia – WHYY
Christmas trees put out in the trash in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
“By recycling them and returning them to the earth, we reduce our waste costs and create a valuable resource,” he said.Options include composting your tree, recycling it into chips, feeding the green to goats, turning it into a barrier to protect dunes from erosion, or even cooking, using pine needles like herbs.
Source: How to reuse or recycle Christmas trees in Philadelphia – WHYY
World’s First Plane – Made & Powered By Hemp – Is 10 Times Stronger Than Steel
Hemp is lighter than traditional aerospace materials (such as aluminium and fiberglass) and therefore requires a lot less fuel to reach a high altitude. Most importantly, hemp is non-toxic, sustainable, requires way less water and land to grow than cotton, and compared to steel or carbon fibre, has almost no environmental impact.
Source: World’s First Plane – Made & Powered By Hemp – Is 10 Times Stronger Than Steel
Aspen City Council puts its money where its mouth is for waste diversion program | News | aspendailynews.com
Aspen City Council has committed funding for a comprehensive waste management plan to provide incentives for recyclable and compostable materials to be diverted from the landfill.
She also told the council that unlike other communities that may benefit from a public-private warehouse that could give construction materials a new life, the local market is not in the mood for second-hand materials. “The concept of taking someone else’s used building materials and using it in a new construction project, the audience for that is limited,” Chapman said.
As salvaging reopens, YK says dump has changed for the better
“In general, we’re just trying to be strategic with how waste is handled and processed on-site so that it’s safe, we’re compliant to regulations, and people really take pride in the Yellowknife landfill.”
Source: As salvaging reopens, YK says dump has changed for the better
Retrofits versus building new: we need whole of industry change | The Fifth Estate
More than 20 million tonnes (or megatonnes, MT) of waste was generated in 2017 from the construction and demolition industry – more than a third of Australia’s waste production. And nearly all of it is sent to landfill.
Source: Retrofits versus building new: we need whole of industry change | The Fifth Estate
Angry Sheffield man cheered on as he stages camp chair protest in middle of construction site – YorkshireLive
Conor set up a camping chair as part of a peaceful protest (Image: Jake Loader)
Demolition work at the University of Sheffield’s Social Sciences building was brought to a halt for two hours after a resident sat in a camping chair on the site in protest against the “deafening” noise levels.
‘I say go for it’: Froggy’s widow won’t stand in the way of the building’s demolition | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Christian Snyder / Post-Gazette
John Jackson, senior vice president of the Cushman & Wakefield/Grant Street Associates real estate firm, also testified that reusing the buildings for office and commercial purposes didn’t make sense financially.
“Green” recyclable rubber gives new life to single-use building materials
Researchers have developed a new type of rubber polymer that can be combined with various waste materials and repeatedly recycledfranckito/Depositphotos
This allows the material to be shaped into tubing, coatings, bumpers, insulation, and many other things you’d normally find made of rubber. But the important thing is that this isn’t the end of the story. Once these products have worn out or are no longer needed, they aren’t just thrown away – the rubber can be ground up into powder, placed back into a mold, and recycled into something new.
Source: “Green” recyclable rubber gives new life to single-use building materials
Demolition of Building Underway Despite Neighborhood Opposition – ColumbusUnderground.com
The building on May 7, when demolition had begun on the rear addition. Photos by Brent Warren.
“We believe value should be placed on the fact that it is the last of the original grand homes and apartments that originally stood on 18th St.,” the letter reads. “We’ve supported efforts to demolish buildings for the child care center expansion but do not believe a surface parking lot is reasonable justification to entirely erase our history.”
Source: Demolition of Building Underway Despite Neighborhood Opposition – ColumbusUnderground.com
Construction Causes Major Pollution. Here’s How We Can Build Better. | HuffPost
HINDUSTAN TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES
Concrete mixing machines line up at the construction site for high-rise buildings on April 10 in Kolkata, India.
The construction industry — from the mining and smelting of raw materials to dealing with the waste from demolished structures — has a huge environmental footprint that is often overlooked. It produces 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That’s a staggeringly high number, four times the emissions of the whole aviation sector.
Source: Construction Causes Major Pollution. Here’s How We Can Build Better. | HuffPost
Your discarded carpet is poisoning the Earth with PFAS | NC Policy Watch
“What’s allowed to disposed of — the materials management — we want to use the science and the data to properly regulate it,” Brinchek said. “We are the receivers of the material, not the generators.”
Source: Your discarded carpet is poisoning the Earth with PFAS | NC Policy Watch
Once demolition permit is sought, it may be too late to stop wrecking ball – The Buffalo News
A demolition crew tore down 184 W. Utica St. on Feb. 27. The green light by the city came two days after the Buffalo Preservation Board voted unanimously to landmark the 1907 building designed by Albert Schallmo, an architect who worked on the acclaimed Blessed Trinity Church on the East Side. (John Hickey/Buffalo News)
“The irony here is while the demolition was happening on West Utica, on the front page of the Buffalo paper that day was a quote from director Guillermo Del Toro saying that the whole reason he selected Buffalo to film ‘Nightmare Alley’ was because of the quality of the architecture in our city,” Howard said.
Source: Once demolition permit is sought, it may be too late to stop wrecking ball – The Buffalo News
‘No-waste’ Japanese village is a peek into carbon-neutral future | World news | The Guardian
Household waste in Kamikatsu must be sorted into no fewer than 45 categories. Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images
Household waste must be separated into no fewer than 45 categories, before being taken to a collection centre where volunteers ensure items go into the correct bin, occasionally issuing polite reminders to anyone who forgets to take the lid and label off a plastic bottle or remove nails from a plank of wood.
Source: ‘No-waste’ Japanese village is a peek into carbon-neutral future | World news | The Guardian
Here’s how we can recycle more buildings | CityMetric
Image: author provided.
Advanced sensors and AI that can detect quickly and determine accurately what can be used among CDW and efficient robotic sorting could aid circular construction by vastly improving the recycling of a wide range of materials. The focus should be on the smart dismantling of buildings and ways of optimising cost-effective processes.
Source: Here’s how we can recycle more buildings | CityMetric
In My Opinion: Old forests, not clearcuts, are climate solutions – By Samantha Krop – The Register-Guard – Eugene, OR
Put simply, logging is not a carbon solution. All told, the logging industry is the largest fossil fuel emitter in our state. In 2016, the Oregon Global Warming Commission reported that the wood products sector itself contributed 50% more pollution than the transportation and energy sector combined.
Embedawatt: Valuing What We Have – – The Adirondack Almanack
Illustrations: Above, the symbol for the Embedawatt, as envisioned by AARCH staff; and below a Medium Sized House Energy Chart courtesy of Jerry Jenkins (from Climate Change in the Adirondacks).
Assuming the new house is more energy efficient than an existing house, it still takes an average of 40 years for an energy efficient new house to recover the energy and carbon expended in the construction of the house (Empty Homes Agency, 2008).
Source: Embedawatt: Valuing What We Have – – The Adirondack Almanack
What if we never demolished another building? | News | Archinect
“It requires a fundamental shift in our attitude to materials.”
Source: What if we never demolished another building? | News | Archinect
Demolition uncovers antique log building in Pennsylvania | WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio
WNEP
“After our demolition contractor started pulling the outsides of the building off, (we) discovered there was a log cabin in there,” said council president Frank Dombroski.
Chicago’s 10 most senseless demolitions, mapped
“Great architecture has only two natural enemies,” said Nickel. “Water and stupid men.”
Amid forestry struggles, panel finds ‘surprising’ consensus on old-growth logging concerns in B.C. | The Narwhal
“We’re seeing these forests disappear overnight. It’s happening so fast, and there’s very little old growth left in this part of B.C. It’s an environmental crisis that’s no less tragic than the loss of coral reefs and tropical rainforests.”
University may demolish historic homes to make way for new College of Pharmacy building | The Michigan Daily
One of the historical houses on E. Huron St. that could be demolished to make way for a new College of Pharmacy building. Natalie Stephens/Daily
“There haven’t been any proposals submitted to purchase, and if that remains to be the case, over the summer they would be demolished,” Broekhuizen said.
World’s consumption of materials hits record 100bn tonnes a year | Environment | The Guardian
Half of the 100.6bn tonnes of materials were sand, clay, gravel and cement for building, plus minerals quarried for fertiliser. Photograph: Zoonar GmbH/Alamy
The lion’s share of the materials – 40% – is turned into housing.
Source: World’s consumption of materials hits record 100bn tonnes a year | Environment | The Guardian
Humanity Risking ‘Global Disaster’ as Material Consumption Passes 100 Billion Tons Annually | Common Dreams News
Deforestation is one factor contributing to unprecedented consumption of materials in recent years. (Photo: World Bank Photo Collection/Flickr/cc)
Half of the materials used each year are clay, gravel, sand, and other materials used for construction, and about 40% of the materials used are turned into housing—yet according to the Homeless World Cup Foundation, an estimated 100 million people worldwide are homeless and as many as 1.6 billion people have inadequate housing.
‘Garbage Depot’ Protested at Canceled Public Hearing — ecoRI News
Nearly 100 opponents of the proposed waste facility on Allens Avenue in Providence raise their hands in silent protest at the Jan. 21 meeting of the City Plan Commission. (Tim Faulkner/ecoRI News)
During the rally, City Council member Pedro Espinal described how the addition of about 200 trucks per day heading to and from the proposed waste-processing facility would impact the five schools in neighborhood. “This facility will only increase the pollution and contaminants of South Providence,” Espinal said.
Source: ‘Garbage Depot’ Protested at Canceled Public Hearing — ecoRI News
Company Collects 80% of City’s Recyclable Plastics and Turns It All into Lumber
Photos by Mike Chassie
Roughly 80% of the plastic recyclables collected throughout Halifax, Nova Scotia are now being processed by Goodwood Plastic Products Ltd so they can be turned into building blocks.
Source: Company Collects 80% of City’s Recyclable Plastics and Turns It All into Lumber
NASA Wants to Grow a Moon Base Out of Mushrooms
If the research pans out, it would allow future astronauts to construct off-world settlements without needing to carry expensive, heavy building materials with them all the way from Earth — a game-changer in the plan to colonize space.
Tower Road heritage building may be up for demolition | The Signal
Seven people spoke out at a heritage advisory committee meeting Wednesday. None of them were in favour of the proposed demolition of the 202-year-old building at 1029 Tower Rd.
Source: Tower Road heritage building may be up for demolition | The Signal
Casper Regional Landfill begins burying turbine blades
A semi-truck hauls a turbine blade to the Casper Regional Landfill to be disposed of.
They are making a pretty large profit from the deal; $675,485 to be exact. “So the revenue from the special projects, um, that go in the unlined area, help with the whole cost of our facility so it keeps all of our rates low. Helping with the revenue source, so absolutely, we’re making money on it.”
Source: Casper Regional Landfill begins burying turbine blades
US cities are losing 36 million trees a year. Here’s why it matters and how you can stop it – CNN
“Every time we put a road down, we put a building and we cut a tree or add a tree, it not only affects that site, it affects the region. The study placed a value on tree loss based on trees’ role in air pollution removal and energy conservation.
The lost value amounted to $96 million a year.”
Source: US cities are losing 36 million trees a year. Here’s why it matters and how you can stop it – CNN
In New Jersey, a Slow-Motion Evacuation From Climate Change | New Jersey News | US News
A flood-plain forest grows now where there used to be houses in the Watson Crampton neighborhood in Woodbridge, N.J., as seen from the air on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. The Heards Brook on the top meets the Woodbridge River on the left, which leads to the Atlantic Ocean. Homeowners here took buyouts through a program that purchases houses and demolishes them to remove people from danger and to help absorb water from rising sea levels due to climate change. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Blue Acres has so far lined up funding to buy 1,156 properties statewide. It has made offers on nearly 1,000 homes, closed deals on more than 700, and knocked down more than 640 in flood-danger areas across New Jersey, according to Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Source: In New Jersey, a Slow-Motion Evacuation From Climate Change | New Jersey News | US News
Wasted Potential: The consequences of New York City’s recycling failure
The Dunn Landfill in Rensselaer, N.Y., pictured above, occupies 80 acres in this 3.3-square-mile city. New York City, 150 miles south, is the source of much of the construction debris dumped in the landfill, which sits less than a mile from the local public school complex and this baseball field where children play. | David Ellis of Rensselaer Environmental Coalition
“It’s a huge waste stream that has big potential for recyclability but needs both the infrastructure and the legislation to make that happen,” said Justin Green, executive director of Big Reuse, a nonprofit organization that works on repurposing building materials. As far back as 2003, city officials were looking for ways to curb construction waste that ended up in landfills. “It is the right thing to do, for the environmental benefits of resource conservation, energy savings and pollution prevention,” the Department of Design and Construction, which oversees municipal projects, urged in a report 17 years ago.
Source: Wasted Potential: The consequences of New York City’s recycling failure
This New Building Is Made From Mushrooms That Actually Clean the Air | LIVEKINDLY
The Growing Pavilion is made with natural materials, including mycelium.
Produced by creative organization Company New Heroes and biotechnology company Krown Design, the biobased building — put in place for Dutch Design Week — was built using only materials that grow on this earth, including timber and mycelium.
Source: This New Building Is Made From Mushrooms That Actually Clean the Air | LIVEKINDLY
F-Waste Is A Huge Climate Issue: How Smart Businesses Are Solving It | CleanTechnica
How is the construction sector combatting its waste?
On the issue of waste in construction, Resource’s Allan Sandilands suggests that the lack of media coverage is a contributing factor to the limited public response to the sector’s waste problem. Where plastic pollution has been heavily documented in regard to its effects on wildlife, Sandilands notes no such coverage has occurred for the construction industry, which he refers to a the “silent sector”.
Source: How is the construction sector combatting its waste?
King County, Washington – $700,000 C&D Grant Program
The Solid Waste Division (SWD) strives to enhance the efficacy of Construction & Demolition (C&D) recycling. SWD is offering a new $700,000 C&D Grant Program for innovative projects that support King County’s Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan (Comp Plan). As established in the King County Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP), King County aims to divert C&D materials from landfills at a rate of 85 percent by 2025, and also has a countywide goal of zero waste of resources by 2030.
The specific solicitation for the C&D Grant Program can be accessed here – https://procurement.
kingcounty.gov/procurement_ OVR/detail.aspx?bidid=4231 (click “Enter as Guest”).
Source: C&D grant program – King County
Century old, long abandoned former meat packing plant coming down – The Shenandoah Sentinel
SHERRY STREETER / SENTINEL PHOTO – Demolition progress on the former Swift and Co. plant in Shenandoah on Sept. 23, 2019.
The former Swift & Company plant at the corner of East Centre and North Bower, a three story brick warehouse stretching the length of the unit block of Bower, towered over the east end neighborhood since the late 1800s or early 1900s.
Source: Century old, long abandoned former meat packing plant coming down – The Shenandoah Sentinel
Wind turbine blades being disposed of in Casper landfill | Cowboy State Daily
Windmill fan blades and motor housing components wait for disposal at the Casper Regional Landfill. Some 1,000 pieces from decommissioned wind turbines will be disposed of at the CRL by 2020, bringing an estimated $675,485 in new revenue to the landfill. (Photo courtesy of the Casper Regional Landfill staff)
Researchers at Washington State University are looking for ways to reuse the fiberglass components of aged-out turbines, but no practical commercial applications have yet been found. There is some hope that ground up blades can be used to create building materials, among other things.
Source: Wind turbine blades being disposed of in Casper landfill | Cowboy State Daily