Making Building Demolitions More Environmentally Friendly

What are the environmental costs of sending building and construction debris to the landfill?

That is one of the questions being explored during a workshop in Saint John on Thursday.

Historian Harold Wright, who is one of the speakers, said the hope is to find greener solutions.

“So instead of burying all of this material — some of which is environmentally hazardous or concerned — we want to be able to see what can we put back into the economy, how many jobs we can create, how much pollution we can keep out of the ground and out of the water,” said Wright.

Wright notes some North American communities are diverting up to 80 per cent of their building and construction debris back into the economy.

But in Saint John, Wright said only a couple of companies salvage construction and building debris. The rest is sent to the landfill.

“Most dumpsites, or landfills, about 30 per cent of their content is from building debris,” he said. “That could be an old building demolished, it could be from you renovating your home last year, or it could be debris left over from new construction.”

Thursday’s workshop is being put on by Heritage Saint John. It takes place at the Nick Nicolle Community Centre from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.