WasteCap Honors Its First C&D Graduates

Thirty-five professionals have completed WasteCap Wisconsin’s public training program on construction and demolition waste management and recycling, completing the course in early May.

The public training is being billed as the first of its kind in Wisconsin to train professionals in the construction, demolition and waste management industries, offering skills needed to develop, manage, monitor, document and promote successful construction and demolition debris recycling programs.

“I highly recommend this course for general contractors and architects,” says attendee Eric Truelove, Director of Sustainable Design for The Renschler Co. in Madison, Wis.

WasteCap’s program was created to help professionals learn about opportunities that will allow them to meet reuse and recycling requirements while reducing disposal costs, according to the organization.

Contractors who know how to recycle will be at a market advantage with the advent of the sustainable movement marked by the Governor’s mandate for “green” building on state projects, Madison and Milwaukee’s Green programs, and the interest in LEED certified projects throughout the state, the group contends.

“I do not understand why a contractor would not want to recycle,” attendee Heidi Brandt of HMB Contractors in Milwaukee remarks. “It not only makes sense, it makes money.”

Participants who successfully completed the training program earned three-year WasteCap Accreditation as Professionals in Construction and Demolition Waste Management and Recycling.

WasteCap, a statewide nonprofit organization, has implemented waste management plans for more than $2 billion worth of construction and demolition projects throughout the state, saving businesses over $1 million in avoided disposal costs through recycling and reuse, according to the organization.

Its projects have diverted more than 84 million pounds of waste from landfills through effective construction and demolition waste management plans, according to WasteCap.

The new training program is sponsored by J.H. Findorff & Sons, Oscar J. Boldt Construction, The Jansen Group, U.S. EPA and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.