Green building mines landfill for materials

Green building mines landfill for materials Bricks, metal and glass left over from construction or demolition projects were supposed to be simply discarded and never seen again. Sam Hawes, manager of the county's landfill, called Yermal's shed a "waste diversion recycling project," because the materials were repurposed. "We had an opportunity to divert waste from the landfill, which takes up air space, which reduces the life of the landfill, and basically repurpose that material in a whole new way," he said. Yermal, who serves on the board of directors for the Cape Fear Green Building Alliance, said he hopes the landfill's managers will implement a permanent program to encourage other builders to reuse materials dropped off at the construction and demolition pad. Hawes added that the landfill could contribute to other community projects, as it did for Yermal's shed. Yermal said he's open to using repurposed materials on other projects, including an addition to his own house. So far, he's found pressure-treated bricks, roofing metal leftover from other projects and glass from windows - adding up to almost 3,000 pounds of reusable material. He approached the New Hanover County landfill about the project, and staff helped pull aside certain items he'd be able to use. "It's not on the horizon right now, but it's something we'd like to entertain," he said. Yermal said he's heard of similar programs in other counties and municipalities that allow consumers to search for items they need. But Hawes said state laws prohibiting scavenging from landfills pose ethical concerns about allowing people to search for such items that were dropped off by paying customers. Christopher Yermal, of Old School Rebuilders, was contracted to build the shed which will house a 1,000-gallon tank of biodiesel for Piedmont BioFuels Industrial. "Everybody's used to calling it waste," he said. The building also incorporates empty cable reels from Time Warner Cable for the outside, leftover storefront glass, crushed concrete and brick, scrapped rebar and other items dropped off at the construction and demolition pad of the landfill. "We've found all our 2x12s out there," Yermal added. "The idea from this house was to use as much repurposed this and that as is possible," Yermal said. The lumber is stamped and in good condition, he added. "I think it will just show people what's possible with how much stuff is being discarded," he said. Green building mines landfill for materials Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 03/05/2012