The department of planning, design and construction (PDC) at Missouri State University is overseeing the remodel of Roy Blunt Hall, formerly known as Temple Hall.
As this is a large project, PDC is implementing efforts to recycle concrete and other materials from the building to reduce waste.
What’s being done?
By using a rock crusher to break up the raw concrete, PDC will save substantial resources by reusing the rock instead of hauling it off-site.
Over 98% of total waste from demolition, equaling about 1,874 tons, has been diverted from the landfill. This exceeds Missouri State University’s goal of 50% recycled materials for all waste on site. Without this recycling effort, it would take about 70 trucks an hour round trip to transfer all the materials off campus.
“It’s a win-win because we’re able to reduce construction costs and provide other improvements for student success efforts, while doing what we can to help the environment,” said Laura Derrick, project manager-architect at Missouri State.
Most of the crushed concrete is from the auditorium lobby and the plaza. It will be used for the basement of the new building. Other recycling efforts include mulching trees, recycling metal from the bike stands and saving hammock stands for reinstallation.
Since these different materials can’t be recycled together, the crew must put them in separate dumpsters. This requires organization and attention to detail as waste accumulates. For this project, 51 different material streams were diverted from the landfill.
According to Derrick, the team’s attention to detail has made this one of the cleanest and most organized job sites she has seen in a long time.
“Our crew has worked extremely hard to follow our sustainability standards,” Derrick said. “They’ve gone above and beyond to prioritize organization, which makes a big difference with a project like this.”