Some Common Construction Waste Materials That Can Be Salvaged and Recycled
Year in and year out, many buildings are demolished in different parts of Australia. This generates a huge volume of construction waste that is to end up being sent to landfills. Luckily, some construction materials can be recycled for reuse. This reduces the rate at which landfills are filled up and also reduces the need to manufacture new construction products to meet new demand.
Here is a run-through of a few common construction materials that can be reclaimed and reused.
Masonry
Bricks and blocks that have been reclaimed from a demolished building can be reused in their damaged or undamaged form. Undamaged bricks and blocks can be saved for use in new building construction projects or sold to businesses that deal in reclaimed bricks and blocks. Damaged bricks and blocks, on the other hand, can be used for several other purposes including as aggregate for use in paving installation, as plant substrate, for providing a stable bedding for utility piping, etc. The only thing that can limit the recyclability of masonry is contamination by other construction materials, such as asbestos, lead and plasterboard, so extreme caution should be practised to prevent that from happening.
Timber
Most kinds of wood used for construction purposes can be recycled. The main sources of waste wood include timber door and window frames, timber roof and wall trusses, wooden fencing, floorboards and so on. For wood to be recyclable, it must have been properly protected from warping, rotting and insect attacks. Large, structural and dimensional lumber salvaged from demolition activities can be recut for use in other construction projects. But in most cases, the lumber will have to be re-graded by a qualified grader if it is to be used for anything other than decorative or aesthetic reasons. On the other hand, small wood scraps can be remanufactured into particle boards and fibre composites.
Plasterboard
Plasterboard is one of the most widely used types of insulation in many Australian buildings. This construction product is made from gypsum, a naturally occurring substance, and it is popular for its fast installation, excellent moisture resistance, remarkable fire resistance, great noise-reduction qualities, and many other benefits. Uncontaminated plasterboard waste salvaged during demolition activities can be reused in different industries. It can be used to make new plasterboard, concrete products, mouldings for bathroom furniture and soil conditioners or improvers.
Talk to your demolition contractor about what construction materials you can salvage for recycling before starting your demolition job.
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