WasteCap Resource Solutions Inc., a non-profit construction recycler based in Milwaukee, has announced that it has piloted its TRACE technology, an online/onsite construction waste recycling documentation too,l in partnership with Buffalo, N.Y.’s Minority Contractors Alliance (MCA), at ABC-TV’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition deconstruction and rebuild site within the city.
“The launch of WasteCap’s innovative new TRACE technology in Buffalo is a step forward for making construction recycling an industry norm in America,” says Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. “The launch of this new green technology is an exciting development for Buffalo and creates new conditions for local, green job growth and economic development.”
The innovative partnership between WasteCap and MCA marks the first on-the-ground pilot of the new technology in the United States, according to a WasteCap press release.
David Homes, Inc., the regional homebuilder that is constructing the new house at 228 Massachusetts Avenue for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, will utilize the documentation and measurement services from the partnership to verify portions of the new home’s “Certified Green Professional Designation” through the National Association of Homebuilders. It will be the first such green designation for any project in Buffalo and for Extreme Makover: Home Edition.
The company says TRACE technology streamlines the entire recycling tracking and documentation process, allowing clients to monitor online their achievement of daily recycling rates compared to project goals. In the past, a waste hauler provided carbon copies of landfill dump receipts and weight tickets. Photos of segregated dumpsters were taken and later analyzed at a desk to determine volumes and weights. Receipts and manifests were collected from general and subcontractors and government regulators processed the data. All of the information was later complied into a report to the client to determine whether recycling goals were met and then submitted to a third party “green” certifying organization. With the launch of WasteCapTRACE, all of this can now be accomplished in real time through a website with field data able to be entered on site through a web-enabled PDA, according to the company.
“Whatever the green certification, third party certifications require accurate and verifiable documentation of materials a project claims to have diverted from the landfill,” says Jenna Kunde, executive director of WasteCap TRACE gathers information required by certification programs and government regulators enabling construction contractors to comply with documentation requirements. The company says it saves valuable time and resources by reducing time spent calling haulers, tracking numbers, and calculating results.
More information is available at www.wastecap.org.