Job Site Sustainability-Reducing Landfill on Our Job Sites
In the city of Boulder, CO, it’s required that new construction projects are “zero waste.” That means all clean wood, metal, and cardboard need to be recycled appropriately and a waste audit submitted upon completion of the project. At Tectonic Design Build, we go a few steps further on both our remodeling projects and new construction projects to ensure we limit what we send to a landfill.
Here’s a list of five ways the Tectonic Design Build team works to reduces our landfill footprint and maintain sustainability on all of our job sites.
1. Remodeling Deconstructing
Remodeling construction typically involves removing existing finishes such as kitchen cabinets, countertops, vanities, and other various resources that still have life left. Most of the time, homeowners want to update their existing homes to contend with modern styles and trends.
By deconstructing and not demolishing our remodeling projects, we can reclaim useful building materials and avoid filling the landfills.
Sometimes when you are deconstructing an existing home, you can not avoid throwing some items in the landfill simply because it is garbage, like old insulation, drywall, or plaster. For new construction projects, landfill waste is much more minimal; there is no existing home to deconstruct.
2. Donations
We take any useful items or arrange for a pick-up for donation to the Resource Central of Boulder, Colorado. They have a stockpile of reclaimed building materials, from kitchen cabinets to light fixtures, doors to appliances – and a vast selection of other usable building materials and items.
3. Sort Recyclable Materials
We also reduce our landfill waste by sorting out the recyclable materials on our job sites like metal, cardboard, scrap (clean, non-painted) lumber, hard plastics, ceramics, electronics, glass, and more. The Resource Central also has what they call “recycle row” – a full-service recycling center for hard-to-recycle items like ceramics, electronics, and glass. We use their facilities to help eliminate landfill waste even further.
4. Upcycle
We are known to upcycle materials here at Tectonic Design Build – like turning misordered glass paneling for stairs into unique shelving or old bathroom tiles into beautiful landscape fountain mosaic sculptures.
5. Research
We ‘re always seeking ways to reduce our footprint and elevate our sustainability. Homeowners can Visit the Resource Center website like we do and discover all the sustainable services and programs they offer the Boulder, CO community. Get tips on improving your own recycling efforts, learning about their implementation of high-impact conservation programs, and much more.
There are many ways to divert materials from going to the landfill; it all starts with mindful awareness of consumption. Creating space on the job sites to sort materials makes it easy to avoid merely tossing that cardboard or metal into the dumpster. Furthermore, by taking a deconstructing approach to remodeling projects, lots of the existing materials can be reclaimed with minimal additional effort.
