Waste lives again

A LYNBROOK retirement village under construction is setting the benchmark for Victorian builders by recycling nearly all of its construction waste.
Momentum Builders has committed to recycling 95 per cent of construction waste in the first stage of the 197-unit Southern Cross Lynbrook retirement village, to be completed by the end of next month.
Working with Envirogrind Recycling Australia, the building company has deployed new technology to recycle onsite brick, tile, timber and plasterboard normally earmarked for landfill.
Ben Weiher, Momentum Builders’ environmental health and safety manager, said the company was excited about incorporating innovative waste recycling processes within the planning and construction of the development.
“The trialling of recycling on site, coupled with other waste minimisation strategies, has delivered real economic and environmental benefits for our company and this site,” he said.
Plasterboard waste, for example, is mulched into gypsum, a fertiliser used in landscaping that breaks down clay soils and can reduce garden water usage by up to 30 per cent.
Framing timber and timber off-cuts are mulched into woodchips used to stop soil erosion and create walkways.
Cardboard, paper and plastic wrap are also collected and taken to Australian Paper Recyclers, while scrap metal is stockpiled and transported to a local metal recycler.
Envirogrind Recycling Australia marketing manager Darlene Gaylor said that in the past four months, 30 cubic metres of cardboard and paper had been recycled as did 24 cubic metres of plastic waste, 18 cubic metres of scrap metal, 60 cubic metres of plasterboard and 42 cubic metres of timber. Just 19.5 cubic metres of waste went into landfill.