Middlebury College not only composts 300 tons of food waste each year and recycles an extensive list of traditional materials including paper, plastic, glass, textiles and metal -- achieving an impressive 60% waste diversion rate, it also recycles buildings. The College's old science center, deemed structurally impractical by consultants for priority building needs of the campus, was slated for removal in 2001 to make room for a new library.
Instead of traditional demolition, the College took its environmental commitment to new heights by diverting over 97% of the former science facility through salvage, reuse and recycling.
Middlebury consciously selected a deconstruction process, which achieves rates of materials recovery over 90% as compared to traditional demolition where a substantially smaller percentage of the materials are recovered. According to the Construction Materials Recyclers Association (CMRA), only 25% of North American construction and demolition waste is recycled.
Fortunately, experiences such as Middlebury's show that deconstruction can effectively mine the resources of standing infrastructure at costs similar to those of demolition. In the deconstruction of the old science building, over 1350 tons of materials -- concrete, copper, rebar, stainless steel, limestone, and science equipment -- were diverted for new uses, resulting in only thirty-six tons of roofing and composite materials requiring disposal at a construction and demolition landfill.
Outputs of Old Science Center Deconstruction
Material Reclaimed |
Quantity Reclaimed
(Tons) |
Percentage |
Equipment & Building materials salvaged* |
10.00 |
1% |
Concrete and glass (crushed)* |
<650.00 |
<47% |
Light mixed iron |
178.80 |
13% |
Steel (rebar) |
368.50 /FONT> |
27% |
Wood |
48.30 |
3% |
Copper |
7.85 |
0.5% |
Aluminum |
2.20 |
negligible |
Brass |
0.08 |
negligible |
Stainless Steel |
12.30 |
1% |
Limestone* |
76.00 |
5% |
C&D debris (landfilled) |
36.50 |
2.5% |
TOTAL |
1390.53 |
100% |
|
|
|
Total Reclaimed |
1354.03 |
97.4% |
*estimated
The contractor hired by the College (T REX Corporation of Derry, NH) achieved the deconstruction at a cost equivalent to that of a traditional demolition process, based on cost analysis provided by the contractor of the two approaches. In addition, the College saved four hourse for renovation by moving them to neighborhoods of similarly-styled homes in the Middlebury community.
The State of Vermont recognized Middlebury's innovative approach to conserving resources by honoring the College with a 2002 Vermont Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence and Pollution Prevention for "its ambitious building deconstruction and recycling project."
More information:
"A Comprehensive Guide: Alternatives to Expansion -- Growth and Demolition on the Middlebury College Campus"
Deconstruction Summary Sheet