Over 20% of waste currently going into landfill is debris generated from new construction, renovation and demolition projects. The boom years of the 80s fuelled incredible economic expansion, but unfortunately left us with the philosophy that waste generation was an acceptable by-product of growth and development.

With the Ontario government's recent passage of Bill 102, a section of the "3 R's Regulations" made under the Environmental Protection Act, as well as similar impending laws across Canada, the construction industry is facing increased pressure to divert materials from landfill.

The 3 R's Regulations deal with solid waste from residential, industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) sources. These waste materials, including those generated by the construction and demolition industry, make up the largest component of the non-hazardous solid waste stream. Efforts to reduce waste from these sectors offer the greatest potential to divert materials away from disposal into productive use.

For the building industry, Bill 102/94 designates compliance for larger construction and demolition projects, but excludes renovation projects. Any project that lists over 2,000 square meters (by floor space) on a building permit, must submit a Waste Audit and Waste Reduction Work Plan. This plan requires a detailed inventory of materials that are being sent to landfill, what efforts are being made to reduce waste, and what will be salvaged for reuse.

Under the legislation, "the Government of Ontario has established a target to decrease the amount of waste going to disposal by at least 50% by the year 2000, compared to the base year of 1987. This is a provincial target that applies to the total amount of non-hazardous solid waste generated in Ontario from all sources."

For the construction industry still recovering from the depths of recession, this legislation presents another potential hurdle to business recovery.

It also offers a unique opportunity to rethink the practices that have generated waste and to develop new means of diverting construction materials from the traditional waste stream. This innovative thinking impacts the construction industry on many levels including renovating older structures rather than demolishing them.

Known as Adaptive Reuse Conversions (ARC's), refurbishing of older buildings involves both the residential and commercial sectors. Large-scale renovations and ARC's are taking place right across Canada: a church converted to condominiums in Quebec City; a school to a regional building in Ottawa; a conversion of the Bank of Montreal to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto; industrial buildings to seniors' housing in Winnipeg; the former Lieutenant Governor's mansion turned into a museum in Edmonton, and downtown Vancouver offices refitted for use by the University of British Columbia. In many cases the ARC option also presents the most cost-effective and practical means to preserve historical buildings and unique examples of architecture.

Another opportunity for increased recycling involves "carefully-planned deconstruction" and the reselling of used building materials. It's estimated that last year alone over 100 million tons of material were diverted from landfill to resale. And, while the salvage yard has been around for generations, the industry is putting a new face on itself, that reflects the needs of the 90s. This includes displaying goods as you would find them in a conventional building supply outlet (neatly by size and material), but at a fraction of their original cost.

It's interesting to note, that for a long time many of these retail outlets were operated on a not-for-profit basis and heavily subsidized by the government. More recently, the private sector has begun to make significant inroads into the reused building materials market, demonstrating that recycling can be profitable, as well as good for the environment. At a recent Environment Canada symposium on the "State of the recycled building materials industry," stakeholders met to establish criteria that will help encourage future growth and increased privatization within the industry. While there was opposition from those organizations that have existed on subsidies, the conference demonstrated quite clearly that recycling can benefit from a more bottom-line approach.

There are many successful regional operations that sell used building materials. On a larger scale, Happy Harry's Used Building Materials is a good example of how the industry can deal with waste more proactively. Happy Harry's was founded in Winnipeg by contractor/property manager Harry Bohna. The company now runs 11 stores across Canada, organized as an owner-operated association. The chain recently opened their first Toronto store, with plans to add another 12 outlets throughout Ontario and Quebec within the next 14 months. As with any successful retail operation, "Harry's has benefitted from the 'buying power' leveraged by a national chain. Working with its affiliate, The national Salvage Network, the compnay has been able to secure a steady supply of top quality used building materials as well as a broad selection of liquidation goods.

The Salvage Network often works with conventional demolition companies to help recycle and reduce the waste from their projects. The rapid growth of the Happy Harry's retail chain has dramatically increased demand for used building materials, and the company is now aggressively pursuing partnerships with other companies to source materials.

In addition to 'stock' items such as windows, doors, cupboards and toilets, the Salvage Network also sources unique or architecturally significant artifacts from older buildings. Key projects include renovations to the Banff Springs Hotel, deconstruction of Via's century-old Winnipeg headquarters, decommissioning Harrod's at Toronto Airport's Terminal Three, as well as Woolco's Stores conversion to Walmart.

A recent project at Simcoe Place in Toronto, "broke new ground" by teaming the Salvage Network with the Carpenters' Union, to remove the construction hoarding from around the completed building. In the past, much of this material would have been damaged and sent to the dump. With a little planning and skilled labour, over 350 sheets of 3/4" plywood, 4100 feet of lumber, dozens of steel ceiling supports as well as massive wooden support beams were saved for reuse. The majority of this material is being sold through Happy Harry's Toronto location in Downsview. This project also demonstrates that with the co-operation of the general contractor, in this case, Eastern Construction, a salvage specialist and the Union, materials can be recycled and generate a profit.

Profitability is the key to the industry's future according to the National Salvage Network's Harry Bohna. Often referred to as "The Workingman's Environmentalist," Bohna has little patience for organizations that survive on government handouts, and he often consults with industry and government environmental agencies on how to make the recycling of building materials more cost-effective. "There's so much potential in this industry," says Bohna. "I don't really understand why anyone needs any form of government funding to make recycling popular, when people can make money at it just by using a bit of common sense."

As other provinces follow Ontario's lead and introduce their own waste reduction programs to the construction industry, Harry's common sense approach to recycling will be a commodity, that should prove to be much in demand.

Copyright 2006 Happy Harry's Used Building Materials. All rights reserved

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