Every year, an enormous amount of waste produced by the construction industry is simply thrown away.
Unfortunately, we can reuse plenty of this discarded material.
Whether it’s from a strip out, residential building or a large commercial project, most of the waste materials on a construction site can be reused.
There are many benefit of reusing these items; a positive impact on the environment, income if you on-sell materials, reduced costs and conservation of natural resources.
A qualified construction waste contractor like Sydney City Rubbish can help you manage your waste program, and collect the construction waste you do need to dispose of.
Here are 9 of the most common materials that we throw away, but can reuse.
Wood
Scrap wood has many uses, and not just as firewood.
Offcuts can be used on other projects, sold or donated instead of just being thrown away, and scrap can be mulched and used in garden beds, paths and parks.
Concrete
Concrete can be crushed down and used again in other building projects. The rubble can come in handy as filler or concrete aggregate (after removing contaminants).
Brick
Used bricks can be utilised on other projects, especially residential construction. Alternatively, they can be sold or donated to other building projects.
As a last resort, bricks can also be crushed into a rubble for use as aggregate or filler.
Plaster
Due to cutting and fitting, plenty of plasterboard is leftover on most building projects. Unfortunately, most of the time this is simply thrown into normal waste.
Offcuts can be saved, reused (if kept in good condition), sold or donated to other projects.
Metal
Metal scraps are produced as a result of many construction processes.
Tin roofing, metal piping and steel from reinforcing are all items that can be used elsewhere. Even small scraps can be shredded, melted down and reused in the manufacturing process.
Plastic
Plastic on a building site is usually made up of piping, and much of this can be reused. Offcuts can come in handy on other projects, or donated to other contractors.
Instead of simply throwing this waste out straight away, look to see where it might be repurposed, as plastic is especially harmful to the environment.
Floor Finishes
Tiles, carpet, planks of hardwood and laminate or vinyl flooring are all common floor finishes that create waste.
A large number of offcuts and unused materials go straight into landfill, and these are yet another example of items that we can easily reuse elsewhere.
Insulation
Installing insulation will always produce plenty of scrap material, due to the finicky nature of installing such a material.
You can use these scraps elsewhere, or donate or sell them to other building contractors for use on other projects.
That’s much better than chucking the unused materials into a skip.
New Materials
The most disappointing thing about construction waste is the amount of brand new materials that we throw away.
In fact, 10% of all building waste consists of brand new supplies.
Tiles, wood, stone is all thrown straight into landfill unnecessarily, simply because building contractors do not have the storage space for it or the time to find a purpose for it.
As above, there are many ways you can reuse these items. Save the environment and your business, and reuse your building materials.
