Massive Vt. demolition project sees 22 buildings largely 'recycled'

More than 22,000 tons of construction materials have been diverted from landfills, as part of one of Vermont's most ambitious demolition and rebuilding projects ever, said Jay Fayette of PC Construction. The South Burlington, Vt. company was picked to oversee a $92-million construction job at the site of the state's former state office complex in Waterbury. Much of it, along with the Vermont State Hospital, was rendered usable when Tropical Storm Irene's floodwaters tore through in August of 2011.

On the WPTZ App? Tap here to see the video.

The task, which Fayette said calls for the demotion of 355,000 square feet of buildings in two phases, requires tearing down 16 buildings now, and six later. Much of the debris will be recycled, Fayette said. "The last thing you want to do is be taking down the quantity of building refuse that we have on this site, which is probably the largest in the state's history, and just be trucking it to a landfill."

Fayette showed New England Cable News how subcontractor Jackson Demolition Service of Schenectady, N.Y., is meticulously picking through the rubble. The team is sorting old wood to be burned at an electrical generating plant in Burlington, Vt. Metal will be handled by a Vermont processing company; melted and turned into new material, Fayette said. Powerful crushers are pulverizing pavement, concrete, and bricks. After, highway departments can use it under new roads, PC Construction explained.

"It's demolition," Fayette said. "You don't think much about demo. But when you have the quantities we're talking about, you have to think about it."

Fayette said so far, 22,100 tons of the bones of Vermont's former state buildings have been diverted from landfills. That's roughly 94 percent of all the material demolished on the site, he noted. Fayette said the debris amounts to about 1,000 round trips of hauling trucks that don't need to head to a landfill in Coventry, Vt. "You're saving on fuels, you're saving on roads, you're saving on air pollution," he explained.

"That's an amazing statistic," remarked David Mears, Vermont's environmental conservation commissioner, in reference to the 94 percent recovery rate.

Mears said he is proud of how Vermont sought out recyclability in its bidding process. He praised the Vt. Dept. of Buildings and General Services for what he called an impressive ethic of environmental-minded choices.

Mears added that contractors know there's a market for building materials, so that helped keep prices to taxpayers competitive. "This is not just good for the environment, but good for the bottom line," Mears told NECN. "All of us, ultimately, will benefit from this."

Mears and Fayette pointed out not everything can be recycled; not bricks with lead paint on them, or window frames containing asbestos. About 1,400 tons of that type of debris will need to be properly disposed of, Fayette said. Still, finding so much new life for Waterbury's dead buildings is a way the Green Mountain State is staying "green." "We're all proud of it," Fayette said.

Originally posted here:
Massive Vt. demolition project sees 22 buildings largely 'recycled'