Great Lakes Circular Materials Roundtable: Building Materials - July 27, 2021 (
Overview
Our eight Great Lakes Circular Materials Roundtable was hosted in July 2021 and focused on increasing the reuse and recyclability of common building materials. Here's a quick recap, and some key takeaways and observations from our team:
Presentations were provided by these speakers:
Jan Culbertson, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, GGA & Senior Partner at A3C Architecture
George H. Berghorn, LEED AP BD+C, CGP & Assistant Professor in Construction Management at Michigan State University
Kathy Powles, Falcon Green Resources
Keira Higgins, NextCycle MI
Key Takeaways
The prices paid for goods used in residential construction have increased 16.5% over the past 12 months. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Every year, more lumber is put into landfills than American forests can generate creating a huge opportunity for normalizing deconstruction over demolition and expanding the use of salvaged lumber in building projects.
Beyond expanding secondary markets, reusability, and recyclability of building materials to achieve circularity, the industry requires:
Product and material innovation for sustainable building materials not related to reuse or recycled content (like hempcrete)
More efficient design and project management practices that reduce waste and material input (like prefab construction)
Government incentives that drive builders to look at reused materials
Despite demonstrated reusability and recyclability of many materials, end-markets and secondary markets for many building materials remain immature:
Salvaged lumber, which is often stronger than virgin lumber, requires many man hours during deconstruction and de-nailing.
As deconstruction methods improve and the decarbonization value of reused materials is recognized, salvaged lumber will become more cost-competitive with virgin lumber.
Cities4Forests developed Sustainable Wood for Cities: A guide for city projects and policies on sourcing wood to benefit climate, environment, and society and is whelping municipalities specify and promote sustainable wood choices
PVC and vinyl, whose chemical structures pose risks for contamination and require extra steps before mechanical recycling
Products made with alternative materials are beginning to replace these materials.
More sustainable concrete options are under development and could use nearly 40% less cement by replacing it with other cementitious materials or pozzolans like ground post-consumer glass and foundry sand.
In the long-run, these new concrete mixes can be cost-neutral, but require different methods for casting and setting.
In many cases, building codes act as barriers for the adoption of salvaged, reused, and recycled building materials. As the durability and efficacy of the products are demonstrated, the design community can work with rule-makers to revise prohibitive codes.
Asphalt roofing shingles can be recycled into materials used for road creation and dust suppression in construction projects.
These materials have the capacity to utilize other recycled materials like crushed concrete and limestone, shredded tires, and foundry sand.
Falcon Green Resources currently operates a recycling facility that creates its own products from asphalt shingles and other inputs from local recycling streams.
NextCycle MI is an accelerator program designed to support project initiatives for equitable climate solutions.
The program offers several innovation challenges relevant to building materials:
The Recycling Innovation & Technology (RIT) - “novel material recovery or sorting technologies, recycled content products, waste minimization techniques, new uses for recycled or organic materials, or other innovations in sustainable materials management”
Recycling Supply Chains (RSC) - “projects that improve or expand the collection, processing, or end markets for recyclable materials in Michigan—especially plastics, textiles, glass, fibers, and C&D debris.”
Roads and Pathways (ROADS) - “projects that increase the use of recycled content in road construction, solving two problems at once”
Organizations outside of Michigan are eligible to apply if partnered with a Michigan-based business or organization.
Companies are becoming more aware of the total carbon footprint of their activities including the lifecycle of the materials they are using. The US Business Council for Sustainable Development is working with the science and business communities to explore material life cycle assessment tools that could help companies with their Scope 3 carbon accounting.
Action Items
The Materials Marketplace team is working directly with individuals who have opportunities to divert high volumes of building materials from landfill, and additional action items include:
Organizations interested in identifying Michigan-based partners or learning more about funding opportunities, contact the NextCycle MI team.
If you have a solution or end-market for materials that still remain difficult to recycle like PVC and vinyl, let our team know!
For material recyclers and manufacturers seeking to increase the recycled content of their products or source material inputs, post a wanted listing on the Materials Marketplace.
For material generators seeking end-markets near them, post an available listing on the Materials Marketplace.
If you’d like to learn more about the US BCSD’s initiatives related to material life cycle assessments and carbon accounting, let them know.
Explore opportunities to boost related businesses through NextCycle MI
Continue networking and learning about opportunities in the Great Lakes for your business by attending upcoming networking events. Register for upcoming events here.
Identify more opportunities for material reuse within your organization and across facilities by inviting your colleagues to join the Materials Marketplace and encouraging them to list their available and wanted materials.