Every new home construction site seems to have a roll-off trash container. Drop a container on a jobsite and it gets filled and dumped and refilled. Some call it ‘waste management’ but in reality roll-off containers lead to waste mismanagement. The container becomes an excuse not to think about how to use, reuse, donate or recycle materials on a jobsite.
I keep a series of containers and piles around the jobsite, and a brief discussion with workers on what goes where. On each floor level we have a container for burnable wood, a couple of recycling containers, a trash can, and an area for cut-offs and left-overs. We pile up lumber cut-offs by type (dimensional, engineered and sheathing) and periodically sort it for usability.
It always amazes me how much good lumber ends up being trashed on typical jobs. Even dimensional lumber pieces as short as 4 in. can be used for blocking. Sheathing strips can become I joist web stiffeners or drywall backers. Yesterday Bruce cut up OSB pieces as small as 3 in. x 6 in. into web stiffeners. We need 300 stiffeners that I estimated would have taken a couple full sheets. So we’re saving on the lumber bill.
A couple workers heat with wood so lumber cutoffs shorter than 4 in. or other wood pieces deemed unusable go into a bucket that’s hauled away weekly.
Cardboard packaging is bundled and stored. When the pile is large enough I make a run to the recycling center.
Our community has mixed, single-stream recycling so cans, bottles, paper and cardboard all go into one container that I put out for bi-weekly pickup.
Metal – bent nails, screws, broken hardware, rebar cut-offs, … isn’t recycled by the community so I collect it and make a pile at my house. A friend’s son makes seasonal runs to a metals recycling facility and picks up the pile.
Small pieces of rigid foam are used to insulate headers, fill in blind wall pockets during framing, or just stacked up against the foundation before backfilling to protect (and further insulate) the basement walls.
At the end of the week I empty the trash cans into trash bags and quickly pick out anything that doesn’t belong in there – recyclables, sizable lumber pieces…. Lately we’ve only generated a half a bag of landfill trash each week. Most of it amounts to sawdust, tiny foam scraps, and empty adhesive cartridges and canisters.
As the job progresses we’ll sometimes generate more waste than the community hauler will take. Drywall is a good example. Unfortunately there isn’t a recycling facility nearby for drywall scrap. But with good sheet planning and cutting we’ll use a lot of drywall pieces that might otherwise get thrown away. Chances are I’ll have a small pickup load of scrap and haul it to the transfer station for disposal.
Fine Homebuilding Recommended Products
Fine Homebuilding receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Bluetooth Earmuffs
Magoog Tall Stair Gauges
Stabila Extendable Plate to Plate Level
