Last spring, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (Mass DHCD) asked RecyclingWorks for help diverting materials from disposal when renovating its properties. RecyclingWorks assisted Mass DHCD with a project involving window, roofing, and siding replacement at seven residential properties in Bourne.

The project included replacement of 147 vinyl windows.  All of the windows, which were double-pane windows in good working condition, were excellent candidates for reuse. RecyclingWorks put the Mass DHCD and contractor, Vareika Construction, in touch with EcoBuilding Bargains to donate the windows for reuse. EcoBuilding Bargains provided a container to collect the windows and arranged for the container’s delivery to their store in Springfield.

Other materials from the project were collected in a commingled dumpster and sent to a C&D processing facility to sort out recyclable materials.

Massachusetts has a number of non-profit reuse outlets across the state that accept donated construction materials for sale and reuse, including Boston Building Resource, EcoBuilding Bargains, and a number of Habitat for Humanity ReStores. These outlets offer free or inexpensive pick-up of materials that they can resell in their stores. See the RecyclingWorks construction materials page for a full list of reuse outlets in the state.

RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts is a recycling assistance program for businesses and institutions. If you need assistance diverting a material from disposal, call our hotline at (888) 254-5525 or email info@recyclingworksma.com. RecyclingWorks is currently conducting a stakeholder engagement process to develop best management practices (BMPs) for construction and demolition materials. A draft of these BMPs will be available this spring.