When you think of the construction industry, what is one thing that comes to mind? If it’s garbage and construction scrap, you are not alone. According to the EPA, renovation of existing structures and keeping them up to date generates over 40 percent of total construction and demolition debris.
The amount of plastic in use is staggering. Since the 1950s over 9 billion tons of plastic have been made. In fact, one estimate indicates the amount of plastic currently in use is 30 percent of all plastic ever produced. If you think all this plastic is being recycled, think again. Only 9 percent of all plastic waste is recycled.
In 1998 our leaders instituted a recycling program — far before “going green” was popular. The goal of the program was to dramatically reduce the waste generated through insulation projects — and we’ve done just that! To date, our program has sent over 1 million pounds of plastic for recycling — that’s 1 million pounds of plastic kept out of landfills!
Our extensive recycling program includes:
- Our team bringing back all trash and scraps from jobs they install, rather than filling a dumpster at the project location.
- Fiberglass insulation pieces are separated from other scrap. These pieces are ground up to make blowing wool for installation in attics.
- Cardboard is separated and compacted for recycling.
- Through our partnership with Rewall, the plastic bags from our batt and blown-in fiberglass insulation are recycled into interior wallboard.
- The 50-gallon steel drums from their foam division are dripped dry and crushed to six inches high and recycled as scrap steel.
- All wood pallets received from various manufacturers are returned to Greenfiber, a cellulose insulation manufacturer, to reload their product for future deliveries.
- We regularly deliver loads of 5,000 to 8,000 pounds of plastic from insulation packaging to recycling centers rather than to landfills.
Interested in seeing this firsthand? We welcome the public to visit our location to learn more about our recycling program. To schedule a tour, please contact us.