Information from this article was first published in Demolition Magazine and is being reused with permission from the National Demolition Association.
The most valuable recyclable product the demolition contractor reveals is the land underneath a building, particularly when it is located in South Boston, one of the hottest real estate markets in the country.
In January, National Demolition Association (NDA) member Costello Dismantling was called upon by Sea and Shore Contracting to carefully dismantle the roof and internal structure of a former contractor’s garage in South Boston. The garage spanned between East Fifth and Sixth streets in a heavily residential area.
Prior to the start of the dismantling work, Sea and Shore installed augured piles and a shoring system to support the brick walls of the garage, which were to remain in place after the removal of the remaining structure. Costello provided hand labor, working from manlifts, to bring the exterior brick walls to a new desired elevation. Interestingly, the piling and support system was engineered to allow excavation within the building footprint for planned underground parking. Parking spaces created off-street and below grade were an extremely valuable component to this project.
Using a combination of careful manual and mechanical methods, Costello separated structures from the perimeter walls to remain and lowered small sections of roof and truss to the ground. Sorting of all building components for recycling took place within the building footprint. The congested nature of this residential area did not allow for on-street truck loading, so the crew created access for haul trucks to the footprint by removing building bays in succession.
There were four streams of materials generated from the dismantling process. The majority of material derived was classified as C&D (construction and demolition), which was brought to Stoughton Recycling. Stoughton uses a state-of-the-art mechanical process to recover wood from the waste stream, which is then sorted and sized into a specified biofuel for a regional wood-fuel-derived power plant.
Costello was able to extract and salvage a number of sizeable wood timbers from the truss system that it sent to a local sawmill. They will create new wood flooring from the 100-year-old timbers.
Both ferrous and nonferrous metals are important recovery items on any job. Costello separates and prepares the scrap metal to market standards for resale. Mixed and dirty material has little or no value, while clean, prepared material is traded as a commodity with a recognized commercial value.
Brick and concrete were also derived from the building. They enjoy a recycling value, which offsets a great deal of the cost of disposal. It is important to note that comingling of any of the “waste” streams greatly increases disposal costs or reduces revenue on a project of this type.
Costello is always vigilant in its personnel training, equipment selections and market awareness to try to find the correct application of resources to reduce disposal costs or increase recycling revenues without driving job costs out of budget. Every job is different.
The recycling story spans by creating wood fuel from C&D, new flooring from old timber, commercially specified metal products, concrete for crushed aggregate recovery and even reusing bricks for perfect façade restoration. However, the demolition process is also the first step to creating a modern, adaptive residential structure within a historic, urban neighborhood.
The project was completed successfully because of great continued communication with the crew for scope and safety, Costello’s client, city regulations, neighbors, transportation and disposal vendors. Receiving praise and thanks at the end of the job tells Costello it was a success.
Daniel Costello is the founder and president of Costello Dismantling Company Inc., serving the demolition, dismantling and recycling needs of commercial, industrial and municipal clients since 1985. Costello maintains close professional contact with the industry through active participation as a former member of NDA’s board of directors, Construction Material Recycling Association, and many local professional associations, including the Environmental Business Council. For a number of years, Costello has served as a judge for the prestigious World Demolition Awards.
