C&D Recycling Forum: Recycle it Yourself

Mike Dorsey, Director of Environmental Services in Fauquier County, Va. and Ray Kvedaras, manager of Cooper Tank Recycling, Brooklyn, N.Y. told attendees at the 2010 C&D Recycling Forum about factors that led to their decision to enter the construction and demolition (C&D) recycling industry.  

Fauquier County had been landfilling C&D material since 1996. In 2005 the county received approval to start a C&D recycling facility at its 200-acre site. The county also will soon begin a landfill mining operation. Dorsey told attendees, “In Fiscal Year 2010 we were recycling or reusing virtually all of our material.”

The facility processes vinyl siding, corrugated containers, “white” wood, metals and plastic buckets. A tire management program is in place and glass is crushed and re-used on-site. The facility has received numerous awards, including a second place national award for Waste Reduction and Recycling from Keep America Beautiful in 2007, the Virginia Association of Counties 2008 Environmental Achievement Award and Virginia Recycling Association 2008 Award for Excellence in Recycling.

Dorsey says there have been several benefits to adding C&D recycling capabilities. Additional materials can be recovered and revenue is earned as a result. Savings accrue from practices such as replacing purchased stone from quarries with recycled material. Recycling combined with the landfill mining project will result in deferring landfill closure and increased landfill airspace. Dorsey noted, however, that the downturn in the economy has caused revenue to fall. “2010 compared to 2005 is a whole different world,” he remarked. A PDF of Dorsey's presentation is available on the C&D Recycling Forum's website.

Kvedaras has managed Cooper Tank Recycling for more than 20 years. The facility operates on a 40,000 square-foot site in Brooklyn. He says currently volume is down from its height of 1,400 tons a day. Cooper Tank is now down to processing 1,100 tons per day, according to Kvedaras.

“There’s less C&D [material] out there. We’re processing more commercial waste,” said Kvedaras. “There’s a lot more work for a lot less value,” he said.

He also pointed out how Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) jobs have brought his facility into the spotlight, but he questioned the validity of some operators who claim to be recycling a high percentage of material in order to meet LEED goals.

The 2010 C&D Recycling Forum took place Oct. 3-5 at the Sheraton Inner Harbor in Baltimore.