Dive Brief:
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A new reclamation and recycling system in Hawaii is turning 1,775 tons of construction debris each day into fuel.
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The 135-acre facility, owned by PVT Land Co. in Waisnae, HI, can process the waste into up to 900 tons of the raw material needed to make synthetic natural gas, which is used to power generators that produce electricity. The electricity--enough to power 12,000 homes, according to the company, is sold to Hawaiian Electric Co., which distributes it through its power grid.
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In additional to transforming debris into fuel, the system recycles 42 tons of a metal a day.
Dive Insight:
The National Association of Home Builders estimates that it costs $500 per home to remove and dispose of construction waste. And there’s plenty of it to get rid of: NAHB says as much as 8,000 pounds of construction and demolition waste is produced for every 2,000 square feet of house.
Recycling instead of landfilling construction waste and debris could save builders—both commercial and residential—substantial sums of money.
