Recycling Standards & Landfill Diversion

WHAT IS A DIVERSION RATE?

When you are thinking about demolition, one of the biggest concerns you may have is the city- mandated diversion rate. What this means is that a certain percentage of the material that a demolition company removes from a job-site must be recycled in some way, rather than simply buried in a landfill. Most cities in the bay area will require you to recycle anywhere between 50%-75% of the material removed from a job-site. SV Demolition takes that to another level and can proudly say that we recycle over 90% on all of our projects. There are many reasons why the cities require this be done—but from your perspective, there are benefits as well. Consider these four benefits (among others) to recycling demolition debris:

• Keeps Products Out of Landfills – The most obvious benefit to recycling the materials left from a demolition job is that it keeps these items out of the landfill. With our landfills filling at a rapid pace, it is important to do everything possible to keep products out that can be recycled or reused. Many materials are easily recyclable, it just takes a bit of work with the sorting and other tasks both at the demolition site and potentially at the recycling center as well.
• Energy Savings – The energy savings resulting from recycling construction and demolition waste instead of landfilling it is extensive. The US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) estimates the energy savings arising from building and demolition recycling was equivalent to saving over 85 million barrels of oil in the year 2012.
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions Avoidance – In addition to having an impact on the energy savings as above, there is a savings of gas emissions. The EPA estimated the emissions offset by recycling these items, in 2012 alone, to be the equivalent of taking nearly five million cars off the road for an entire year.
• Supporting Jobs in the Recycling and Construction Industry – One final benefit to recycling demolition debris, rather than sending it to the landfill is supporting jobs in the industry. When we stimulate our local economy, everybody wins.

WHY RECYCLING MATTERS

Supporting jobs in this manner is one benefit that you should never underestimate. According to survey results and industry projections, the construction and demolition recycling industry are projected to be responsible for the support of nearly 56,000 jobs in the United States since the year 2012. Additionally, recycling facility owners have since invested around $4 billion dollars into developing infrastructure to handle the recycling volume.

HOW WE CONTRIBUTE

As you can see, there are numerous benefits to recycling construction and demolition debris. Even though hitting those city-mandated diversion rates can be a challenge at times, it’s important to source separate your material on site and not cut corners. The future of our world depends on this. That makes it more important than ever to work with a demolition company that makes recycling and salvage a priority—not just an afterthought. SV Demolition, Inc. brings these recycling practices to projects throughout San Francisco Bay Area and parts of Northern California. We can help you with all your demolition needs while always making recycling a priority. Call or contact us online today.