Solvents and cleaners run off through your drainage system and pollute the
environment. If you haven’t done it already, your organization can deepen its
green by switching to nonpolluting cleaning products. Furthermore, the link
between traditional cleaning products and asthma indicates that greening this
area of the company may also help employee health as well as being safer for
the environment. Some materials, such as microfiber, offer effective cleaning
without chemicals.Recycle.................................................................................................
There’s no question that recycling saves money and is good for the environ-
ment. The California Integrated Waste Management Board, estimates that
over the next seven years, $2 billion will be added to California’s economy
and over 45,000 new jobs will be created by meeting the state’s 50 percent
recycling goal. Recycling just one ton of paper per year saves 17 trees and
7,000 gallons of water. The numbers are just as impressive when you recycle
steel and glass, too. Salvaging a ton of steel saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore,
1,400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone. When you recycle a single
ton of glass, roughly ten gallons of oil are saved. These are real numbers,
reflecting deeply meaningful benefits.Chapter 11: Making Your Business Processes Environmentally Friendly 197
Recycling construction waste
Taking steps to recycle your construction waste
saves you money while being kind to the planet.
You’ll find many online resources on this topic,
but here are a few ideas to get you started:
Ask subcontractors to include waste removal
in their bids. This gives them an incentive to
reduce waste as much as possible.Instead of hauling off the concrete and
asphalt from demolished facilities, you can
crush and use it as structural fill for the new
building, saving major dollars. With such an
option, why would you cart the rubble away
and then actually pay for gravel you need to
make structural fill?
Ask suppliers to remove all unnecessary
packaging to minimize construction waste.Process scrap lumber or wood into wood
chips, compost, animal bedding, or boiler
fuel.
Sell metals such as aluminum, steel, brass,
and copper to scrap metal yards.Keep cardboard only dumpsters on the job
site so that a local recycling firm can pick
up cardboard.
Find out what recycling facilities exist in your
area. You may be able to donate glass to be
recycled into fiberglass or used instead of
sand in paving materials. Asphalt shingles
can be recycled for asphalt paving and
street repairs in some areas.You’ll find more bright ideas online. Check out
Construction & Demolition Recycling, an online
magazine (www.cdrecycler.com/) as a starting
point.