NDA Convention: Demolition Contractors Encountering LEED Process

In the architectural, engineering and construction process, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification process has had a significant impact on the way people in those professions go about their work when a building owner is seeking LEED status.

Demolition contractors have also encountered the LEED system, particularly when dismantling or demolishing a structure that will house a building seeking LEED certification.

At a session at the 2010 National Demolition Association Annual Convention, which took place at The Mirage in Las Vegas March 20-23, C&D recyclers Jason Haus of Dem-Con Cos. LLC, Shakopee, Minn., and John Lloyd of Lloyd’s Construction Services Inc., Savage, Minn., were joined by salvaged materials broker Nathan Benjamin of Planet ReUse, Kansas City, Mo., in providing an overview of LEED and its effect on the demolition process.

Lloyd noted that there are several ways for building owners to obtain LEED points that pertain to the handling of materials generated on the job site. These can include the selection of a “brownfield” property site and the proper handling of contaminated soil, but the most relevant to demo contractors involves the handling of scrap materials generated at a job site.

In the “Materials and Resources” section of the LEED scorecard, points can be earned on a graduated scale depending on what percentage of materials are recycled or otherwise diverted from the landfill.

Haus remarked that off-site separation at automated sorting facilities such as the one run by Dem-Con in Minnesota has become more common as the LEED system has grown in popularity.

Haus says achieving a high recycling rate is often dependent on the state of regional end markets for materials beyond metal, concrete and wood. While in some cities gypsum drywall can be fairly easily recycled, in others there are no nearby markets.

Haus says an option for recyclers is to “create a new market,” as Dem-Con has been doing for tear-off asphalt roofing shingles. “You have to put in the time and the effort, and in our case [with shingles], it has taken three years,” Haus commented.

Benjamin remarked that some of the most profitable paybacks contractors can yield occur when machinery, fixtures or structural beams can be salvaged and sold for re-use.

The challenges, he noted, involve the limited window of time that may be available to the contractor as well as unfamiliarity with who the potential buyers for such objects are.

Benjamin’s company markets such materials through its Web site (www.planetreuse.com). When the process works, he remarked, money is saved on tipping fees and contractors can gain revenue on the re-sale. “You also can market this idea to general contractors when they’re looking for partners on sustainable projects,” he commented to the demolition contractors in attendance.