Dive summary:

• Tom Kirk of Kirk C&D Recycling in Bloomington, Ill., has a mantra for demolition contractors to repeat to themselves as they work through a project: "You cannot look at it as trash. It is cash flow."
• Planning how to disassemble a particular building with an eye toward what can be reclaimed for a profit requires contrasting the necessary work with the slowdown in productivity compared to a conventional job.
• Recycling also may be more feasible if equipment geared to the process is added to or substituted for usual machines.

From the article:

Metals, wood and concrete are among the easiest to recycle. Other materials may take a little more ingenuity. ...