Sustainability is the philosophy that in our various activities and even our existence here on Earth, humans can maintain a balance between nature and the many resources taken from her. When an operation or organization is sustainable , that means it takes no more from the environment than what can be satisfactorily replaced. Regular companies and manufacturing entities are not the only ones capable of striving for such sustainability though. Let’s take a look at six ways sustainability can be increased in a construction project.
1 Setup Recycling
On-site recycling is an area that still falls short on many construction sites. It’s an automatic contention to handle waste in bulk via mass dumping at an on-site dumpster. Many don’t realize though that a call to the local recycling center can also see a site graced with recycling containers quite similarly. At this point, all workers on the site can throw recyclables and trash into the appropriate containers, saving a lot of environmental waste in the end.
2 Reuse Scrap
Another, old way of doing things is to simply trash all materials that have been cut on or otherwise depleted to a degree. To save on material costs as well as administer some environmental sustainability, try to reuse all scrap materials as much as possible. This pertains to scraps of siding, pipe, wire, ductwork, and especially lumber, or wood scrap. Getting the maximum potential from each supply will help you and the environment.
3 Incorporate Solar
Rather than simply pulling from the grid for all of the project’s needs, consider solar supply alternatives. By regularly capturing the sun’s rays, solar systems can power any number of items. If an entire solar system is not plausible, individually-solar powered items can be employed. Radio systems, phone and power tool battery charging, site lighting, sound systems, and more can all be rigged to run sustainably via solar power.
4 Limit Idling
Idling machinery can be a huge waste of resources, money, and environmental depletion. In some cases, idling is necessary as machines are active in processes but may have waiting moments. When a machine is going to run idle for several minutes however, this is a complete waste. Save fossil fuels and the air from unnecessary burn by turning engines off when several minutes or more of downtime are expected.
5 Green-Color Projects
When it comes to your individual project, how green is it? You can run an extremely sustainable job site, but if the end product itself is environmentally defeating, what’s the point? Consider how sustainable your project’s design is. The options in sustainable utilities and structural elements today are quite extensive.
6 Green-Color Materials
Again, if your project is run and designed in a sustainable way, yet you are utilizing the worst of environmentally-touching materials, you are essentially defeating the purpose. As well as future operation of the end product and the state of the site constructing it, investigate all materials used. This is especially true when it comes to wood products. By only using sustainably produced and maintained materials, you are making big strides in overall project sustainability.
Sustainability isn’t just a responsibility of that far-off, unseen manufacturing company. It’s a matter for us all and the future of all of our children. When it comes to today’s construction project, it’s easy to take care here – just by following some simple steps in sustainability such as those given here.
The post 6 Ways to Increase A Construction Project’s Sustainability appeared first on Portfolio Princess.