The construction and demolition industry produces large amounts of waste products. Many of these can be reused or recycled. Common materials such as concrete and bricks can be crushed and recycled, asphalt surfaces repaired and wood pallets reused or refurbished. These services are offered by commercial recyclers who can provide onsite or offsite solutions, diverting solid waste from going to landfill.
Construction & Demolition
Asbestos
Asbestos may be contained in fibro products made before 1987. It is a hazardous material with devastating health impacts. It should be removed by a licensed operator and disposed of according to legal guidelines. It is illegal to re-use, recycle or illegally dump asbestos products.
Asphalt & Bitumen
Most asphalt and bituminous material can be recycled, which is cheaper than reconstruction. Recycling also reduces demand for raw materials, decreases emissions output and diverts useable materials from landfill.
Bricks
Unwanted bricks can be reused or crushed and recycled, minimising mining and quarrying activities and diverting waste materials from costly landfill.
Ceramics
Ceramics can be crushed and recycled into a range of useful products, diverting waste from landfill and decreasing emissions and toxic outputs used in the production process. Redirecting this waste can also help avoid costly landfill charges.
Concrete
By recycling concrete, landfill space is conserved, gravel mining minimised and the carbon footprint of manufacturing new concrete significantly reduced.
MDF, Masonite & Villaboard
Recycling converts waste materials into something usable. This can provide sustainable and convenient ways to minimise waste costs and volumes sent to landfill and reduces energy use and carbon emissions when compared to production from raw materials.
Pallets - Plastic
Plastic pallets are used to make transport goods such as food and other types of stock. They are made from non-renewable resources and should always be reused, repaired and then recycled.
Pallets - Wood
Most wood pallets can be reused, repaired, recycled or even used as a bio-fuel instead of going to landfill.Reusing the pallets saves trees, energy and diverts useable materials from landfill.
Particleboard
Within Australia hundreds of thousands of tonnes of wood waste, which could be recycled, make their way to landfills each year. Particleboard can be recycled to make new particleboard.
Plasterboard
Uncontaminated plasterboard is completely recyclable and should not be put into landfill. It should be recycled for use in new plasterboard or the gypsum used in agricultural soil conditioners. This can reduce landfill and waste management costs and help protect natural resources.
Timber - Untreated
Post-consumer wood or timber can be recycled if it is not contaminated. Industrial timber waste comprises of timber waste from the commercial and industrial sectors.
