Whole building recycling as a waste reduction practice

Abstract

This paper considers strategies for whole building recycling in New Zealand. Assumptions about waste and recycling potential that are made in the process of improving construction systems usually relate to the development of new practices that may be generally characterised as reductive. These are often effective, and make significant contributions to the overall efficiency of the wider building industry. However, the tradition of uplifting, removing, relocating and restoring – and in this process, recycling – a whole building is well established as a practical and economic alternative to demolition and salvage, in which only a small proportion of all the original material is likely to be recovered. The “relocatable”, in which space and volume as well as material is recycled, can be seen as a sustainable practice for reduction of waste and resource depletion, and also sustainable for its social function. The argument for expanding the practice is developed in this paper through case study examples with a focus on three elements: material recovery (including energy), irreducible waste by-products from the usual recovery process, and identifiable social advantages. It is argued here that waste is minimised through the element of direct personal commitment commonly encountered during the period of the building’s recovery. Case studies are supported by research that has had access to the files of some of Auckland’s leading house removal companies.