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Minimizing Waste on the Building Site
Waste Control
| Florida Green Building Coalition |
Member
Waste Facts
One of the easiest ways to save money on a project is not to spend it.
Perhaps the most common sight on any building project is the ever present 40 yard
dumpster. A lot of builders never bother to look inside one to see what is being thrown
away but they are aware that job site cleanup and trash hauling is a large budget item.
Every effort should be made to ensure that what is being called trash and thrown away
really is trash. I have visited some job sites and seen enough lumber in dumpsters to
build a shed with.
I spoke to a framing carpenter who told me of a small builder that he worked for. He said
the builder provided him with a roof framing diagram that was so accurate that when the
roof sheathing was done he only had one piece of plywood left over that was bigger than
eight square feet and the builder took that with him to use on the next job.
Drywall seems to be a major waste item. Most dumpster providers even have a scheduled
empty that they call the drywall pickup. This can be very costly to the builder especially
since most drywall contractors charge by the board count. I recently visited a project
where drywall had just been hung and to my surprise there was no drywall in the
dumpster, NONE. I asked the drywall contractor where the scrap was. He said in today's
economy I don't have scrap.
Think of the savings to everyone involved if we just stopped throwing things away. Just
because a 2x4 has been cut and doesn't measure a full 96 inches doesn't mean it is
scrap. For many builders looking for lost profits is as easy as looking in the dumpster.
I have found that it is usually more cost efficient to hire subcontractors who supply their
own material and labor. Often when a subcontractor is paying for his own supplies the
problem of wasted resources goes away.
Regardless of how it is policed the general contractor or developer should insist that all
workers on his project minimize waste. It preserves resources and lowers overall job costs.
Perhaps the most common sight on any building project is the ever present 40 yard
dumpster. A lot of builders never bother to look inside one to see what is being thrown
away but they are aware that job site cleanup and trash hauling is a large budget item.
Every effort should be made to ensure that what is being called trash and thrown away
really is trash. I have visited some job sites and seen enough lumber in dumpsters to
build a shed with.
I spoke to a framing carpenter who told me of a small builder that he worked for. He said
the builder provided him with a roof framing diagram that was so accurate that when the
roof sheathing was done he only had one piece of plywood left over that was bigger than
eight square feet and the builder took that with him to use on the next job.
Drywall seems to be a major waste item. Most dumpster providers even have a scheduled
empty that they call the drywall pickup. This can be very costly to the builder especially
since most drywall contractors charge by the board count. I recently visited a project
where drywall had just been hung and to my surprise there was no drywall in the
dumpster, NONE. I asked the drywall contractor where the scrap was. He said in today's
economy I don't have scrap.
Think of the savings to everyone involved if we just stopped throwing things away. Just
because a 2x4 has been cut and doesn't measure a full 96 inches doesn't mean it is
scrap. For many builders looking for lost profits is as easy as looking in the dumpster.
I have found that it is usually more cost efficient to hire subcontractors who supply their
own material and labor. Often when a subcontractor is paying for his own supplies the
problem of wasted resources goes away.
Regardless of how it is policed the general contractor or developer should insist that all
workers on his project minimize waste. It preserves resources and lowers overall job costs.
Nationwide Waste
Statistics
Americans' total yearly
waste would fill a
convoy of garbage
trucks long enough to
wrap around the Earth
six times and reach
halfway to the moon.
It is estimated that this
year 222 million tons of
waste will be generated
by Americans.
Since 1950, people in
the United States have
used more resources
than any generation
who ever lived before
them.
Each American
individual uses up 20
tons of basic raw
materials annually.
At the consumption
level of the average
American, at least four
additional planets worth
of resources would be
needed to support the
planets six billion
inhabitants.
Statistics
Americans' total yearly
waste would fill a
convoy of garbage
trucks long enough to
wrap around the Earth
six times and reach
halfway to the moon.
It is estimated that this
year 222 million tons of
waste will be generated
by Americans.
Since 1950, people in
the United States have
used more resources
than any generation
who ever lived before
them.
Each American
individual uses up 20
tons of basic raw
materials annually.
At the consumption
level of the average
American, at least four
additional planets worth
of resources would be
needed to support the
planets six billion
inhabitants.
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