Waste Management for Construction Sites: What You Need To Know

The Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service estimates that the US population will grow by 30.8 million between 2020 and 2040, which means that the demand for efficient, large-scale construction is only going to grow. A massive part of meeting that demand is waste management for construction sites.

You need to know what to expect, how to deal with health hazards, what you can recycle, the pros and cons of construction methods, and so much more. That’s why this post will give you a grounding in enhancing your waste management for construction sites!

We’ll cover:

• Demolish, deconstruct, or dredge

• The 4 types of construction waste

• The basics of waste management for construction sites

• Need a hand with construction waste management?

Let’s get started.

Demolish, deconstruct, or dredge

First you need to know whether you’ll be demolishing, deconstructing, or dredging the site before any actual construction can occur. This will determine the types of waste the operation will produce, and it’s a great way to know what you’re going into so that you can bring the appropriate equipment for the job.

If the job does require any of these three things then you need to know how much of each will be happening ahead of the project’s start. While this might seem like common sense, it’ll save you a lot of hassle in the long run versus not knowing for sure and bringing the wrong equipment, let alone inadequate waste management measures.

For example, let’s say that there’s an existing structure that needs to be removed before you can start construction. The foundations are already adequate for the new build and the land is already shaped from the previous structure, so no dredging is required.

You have three options for the old structure; demolish it, deconstruct it, or mix both techniques.

Demolishing will be much faster, and Dvele estimates that 75 - 90% of housing materials can be reused or recycled in one way or another no matter how it’s taken down. It will also cost less due to the faster turnover and relatively lower expertise required.

However, deconstruction is fantastic for keeping materials out of landfills and for having them ready to use without the need for costly refurbishment. Elements such as door frames, windows, lumber, pipes, plumbing fixtures, and more will all be damaged to the point of needing to be remade, which requires time, energy, and money. Whether it’s worth it will depend on the structure that needs taking down, and how much would realistically be salvaged versus the time commitment, but there’s no question that it’s a more environmentally friendly method than demolishing.

Once you know what kind of project you’re tackling you can start preparing for the types of waste it will produce.

The 4 types of construction waste

Roughly speaking, there are 4 types of construction waste that you’ll be dealing with. These are:

• Building waste

• Dredging waste

• Demolition waste

• Hazardous waste

Quick note before diving in; these categories aren’t mutually exclusive! Generally speaking, you’ll have to process waste according to the most thorough disposal instructions that apply to it. For example, something classed as building and demolition waste should be processed as a piece of demolition waste, whereas hazardous waste is always treated as hazardous waste, no matter which other categories it falls under.

Building waste is the most common kind on construction sites, and covers everything you’d consider to be a standard building material. This ranges from bricks, lumber, and cement to rebar, insulation, and wiring. Most of these items are easy to process for disposal or repurposing, as they can all go into a roll-off container to be taken away by a waste management company or used again directly on site.

Dredging waste covers things like soil, rocks, tree stumps, and so on - anything that has to be cleared or extracted from the ground to make for a stable base to build on. These can mostly be treated the same as other types of waste, but consider recycling potential before lumping it in with items bound for landfill. For example, wood can be generally recycled, local community projects or even businesses need the soil or rocks, and so on.

Demolition waste is pretty much anything generated by demolition, the difference being that it requires processing before it can be reused. Reinforced concrete is great to recycle onsite, but does require some effort to make new concrete. Depending on the construction type and requirements, rubble (broken bricks, concrete, etc) could be used in a trench for the foundations to promote drainage and limit the need for new concrete, but could need breaking up further so that the pieces fit. Anything that can’t be used again on site can generally be put in a container to be taken away by a disposal service. That is, except for…

Hazardous waste. This is exactly what you’d expect; anything that’s dangerous for yourself, your workforce, or the local environment to be exposed to. Asbestos, lead, paint thinner, fluorescent bulbs, and so on are all items that need to be handled carefully and need to be disposed of. For this you’ll need a covered container to prevent the waste from escaping before collection, such as a front load dumpster.

The basics of waste management for construction sites

Once you know what waste you’re going to be dealing with (and how to handle it) you’ll need to get containers on site and arrange for pickups for disposal with a reliable waste management company.

Again, what you’ll need depends on the project you’re handling and the types of waste that will be produced. For most bulky waste you’ll need a roll-off container, anything hazardous will need a closed container such as a front-load dumpster, and if you’re producing a lot of waste it could be worth also renting out a waste compactor to save space and cut down on the number of collections you have to pay for.

We’ve previously shared tips for estimating what size containers and collection frequencies you’ll need but, to summarize, take an average of the amount of waste you produce of each kind on similar projects, then compare the price of containers versus how often they will need to be emptied (and the charges incurred by that). Remember that it might be more cost-effective to rent a larger container so that you don’t need them to be emptied as often.

Need a hand with Construction Waste Management?

Waste management for construction sites isn’t easy, and it can often feel like an additional headache to make any project more difficult to handle. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.

It shouldn’t be difficult to deal with waste effectively and without harming the environment. That’s where Trashco Inc. comes in.

Whether you need help figuring out what type or size of containers you’ll need or you just need to sit safely knowing that your waste will be collected and responsibly disposed of on time, every time, we’ve got your back.

Don’t settle for second best - click here to talk to our team of passionate experts now!