5 Ways to Minimize Waste in Civil Construction Projects

The construction industry is among the most polluting industries in the world. In fact, the construction and demolition industry is responsible for an estimated third of the world’s waste. It’s no wonder that there’s a push for greener construction practices along with greener buildings. Cities are adopting several regulations to make sure that civil construction projects have as small of an impact on the environment as possible too. While using electric vehicles and prefabricated materials makes a big difference to the air-polluting aspects of construction, the effective management of waste can help the environment and save the project money too. 

Read on for ways to minimize waste in civil construction and other building projects.

• Reduce the Amount of Waste Created

It’s no surprise that demolitions are one of the biggest waste-creating aspects of the construction industry. A soft tear down (or deconstruction) instead of the more brutal full demolition practice gives you the opportunity to reduce waste by salvaging reusable and recyclable materials at the source. Salvaging materials also saves project money. Items like windows, lumber or tiles may be reused on the same property or sold to recoup some of the project’s costs. North Construction reused the original granite rock to rebuild a portion of a seawall to minimize the impact on the environment and maintain the original masonry-style look of the wall at Seaside Place, West Vancouver.

• Include Waste Management In Your Project Plan

Having a robust waste management plan in place before your project starts is key to reducing the amount of waste generated. Diversion from landfills should be one of the main objectives. This means that there is a plan to reduce, reuse, or recycle materials.

Reduce: Effective project management means that purchasing plans are designed for that project alone, not according to a standard template. 

Reuse: Plan what can be reused from the original building in the new project. 

Recycle: Have a plan in place to separate recyclable materials at the source to be sold or donated. 

A detailed site plan with areas allocated for waste sorting and storage will go a long way toward effective waste management.

When North Construction returned Dorman Point to its natural landscape, deconstructed material was broken down to bundles of flyable weights before being airlifted into bins on a barge and transported back to the mainland to be recycled.

• Use Technology 

Civil construction projects often need excavations on a large scale. Machine control technology allows you to be precise, reducing the amount of work needed and avoiding unnecessary excavation when compared to manual work. North Construction used a skilled crew along with a top-of-the-line fleet of excavators equipped with 3D GPS technology during excavations at Cypress Mountain for extreme precision to ensure minimal disruption to the surrounding subdivisions, roads and environmentally sensitive areas.

• Make Smart Vendor Choices

Pick your vendors wisely. Take your time to explore different vendor options to understand what they can offer in terms of materials and whether they can handle projects of the scale you need. This can help you avoid unnecessary delays whether it is in terms of collecting recyclable materials from your construction site or supplying you with the precise materials you need to finish your project efficiently. 

• Track Your Waste

You won’t know the impact of your waste management plan without efficient ways to track your progress. Gone are the days when multiple dockets need filling in before they are uploaded onto a computer. Using technology like waste tracking software or a waste tracking app can streamline your efforts with workers updating them real time. It will also give you the ability to make adjustments to your plan as your project moves along.

North Construction – Cutting Edge Construction With Sustainability at Its Heart

North Construction has been championing the cause of sustainability in construction for nearly three decades. We specialize in difficult terrain and construction in eco-sensitive environments. Whether you need project management, design assistance, or end-to-end construction services, our highly skilled teams can handle it all. North Construction also has a strong history of being retained to bring projects ‘back on track”, offering our clients fully transparent real-time project costing, and safety oversight from our COR certified Team through to environmental compliance.

We do this by continually expanding our equipment, and expertise, to minimize the impact of our projects and are not afraid to use the latest cutting-edge construction technologies to drive progress.

You can browse the services we have to offer here or get in touch with us to discuss your project and needs.