Denver story touts C&D advances.

A feature in the Denver Post has put the spotlight on the active building and demolition-related recycling market in Colorado. The feature, which ran in the newspaper on Tues., March 16, mentioned the re-use of materials as well as the massive concrete recycling project taking place at the former Stapleton Airport in Denver.

The article's author noted that major projects are often done after cost-benefit analyses determine the wisdom of the procedure, while other recycling and reuse applications may be performed either for profit or by those who simply hate to see useful objects enter a landfill.

The Used Building Materials Association, which is based in nearby Boulder, Colo., was consulted as a source for the feature story, as was Arvada, Colo.-based aggregates recycler Recycled Materials Co. (RMC). RMC is a member of the Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA) and was featured in a profile story in this magazine in the Nov.-Dec. 2002 edition. ("The Urban Quarry," Nov.-Dec. 2002 C&D Recycler, p. 12).

The feature noted that major projects such as the one at Stapleton have involved millions of dollars and large amounts of material and have secured the involvement of major real estate developers such as Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland, the lead developer on the Stapleton project.

At the other end of the spectrum, used building supply companies such as ReSource 2000 of Boulder are portrayed for their ability to re-use cabinets and smaller fixtures.

The U.S. EPA's Ken Sandler, who authored a piece on deconstruction for this magazine last year ("Deconstructing an Industry," July-Aug. 2003 C&D Recycler, p. 22), is quoted in the story as saying that both the private and the public sectors are beginning to pay more attention to the 130 million tons of scrap and debris generated each year in the U.S. at construction and demolition sites.

As noted in C&D Recycler in late 2002, the Stapleton project is expected to yield 6 million tons of recycled aggregate materials from old runways, taxiways and parking lots. The former airport is being redeveloped as an entirely new Denver neighborhood with a mix of residential, retail and commercial buildings.

The efforts of companies such as ReSource 2000 and the Denver chapter of Habitat for Humanity, meanwhile, focus on reselling doors, windows, cabinets and other re-usable items salvaged from demolition and renovation sites.