Universal Wrecking Corp., a demolition, scrap metal recycling and wrecking contractor, recently completed the demolition of a concrete aggregate plant in
The property needed to be razed to make way for redevelopment. The main goal of the project was to demolish the building and structures on the 20-acre site. There were two large buildings used for repair and storage, which were constructed of steel and block. There was also a large one-story office building constructed of wood and block.
Prior to demolition activities, an environmental survey was conducted along with a review of the client’s existing documentation on Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM) and other possible hazardous materials. ACM had been abated by the client prior to their mobilization and no additional ACM was found. The other environmental concerns were oils and greases contained in the equipment and gearboxes. These oils and greases were properly drained and containerized for off site recycling at an approved facility.
UWC also needed to confirm that all the site utilities were deactivated. Water, gas, sewer, electric, phone, cable, etc. were all confirmed to be cut, capped and de-energized.
As there were still several pieces of re-useable equipment remaining at the facility, UWC utilized their rigging and salvage crews to carefully remove the used equipment for resale. A 60-ton crane and manlift along with a skilled rigging crew were used to salvage the saleable equipment.
To perform the demolition services, UWC mobilized a large crew of trained employees and well as numerous pieces of demolition equipment from its expansive fleet. Heavy equipment mobilized to the site included a Cat 330L excavator with a hydraulic hammer attachment, a Cat 330 excavator with LaBounty grapple attachment, a Cat 350 excavator with LaBounty MSD 100 shear attachment, a Cat 345 excavator with LaBounty 3000 rotating shear, two Bobcat 773 skid steers with demo grapple and hammer attachments and numerous site support vehicles. The average crew size on the project was eight employees which consisted of laborers, foremen, a site supervisor and site safety officer.
Scrap metal recycling was very important on the project as the proceeds were used to help offset the demolition costs. In order to maximize the return on the scrap metals, UWC carefully sorted the metals into nonferrous and ferrous piles. Once the materials were sorted, UWC then processed, cut and stripped the materials so that the materials were clean and prepared in order to obtain the highest scrap metal prices. UWC also used one of their 70-foot long portable truck scales onsite to ensure proper weight verification on all trucks leaving the facility. In all, more than 1,200 tons of scrap metal were recycled from the demolition operation.