Alternative Options for managing construction & demolition waste. The physical characteristics of the ODS/HFC-containing foam wastes that affect possible treatment/disposal options include the weight, volume, and material composition. The demolition processes and segregation of wastes on demolition sites will impact on, for instance, the size of individual pieces of waste and its level of contamination. From a waste management perspective, these different ODS/HFC-containing foam wastes are unlikely to be handled as separate waste streams. There may be some exceptions to this if there are potential reuse opportunities for specific high quality products. However, in considering future waste management scenarios, we have assumed that the waste will generally be handled as one waste stream or possibly two streams; namely ‘PU Panels’ and ‘all other products’. PU Panels are comprised of foam cores between rigid facings. Facing materials are typically steel, aluminum or glass fiber reinforced plastic sheets. PU Panels which are faced with steel or aluminum are more attractive to recyclers owing to the metal content. PU Panels are typically comprised of 80% metal by weight. “All other products” will predominately consist of foam material. In terms of waste handling and transport of wastes, it is important to recognize that these wastes are voluminous, low density materials. As a result, transportation will be relatively expensive per ton of material handled. The average density of this collective waste stream (PU Panels and all other products) is estimated at 0.0354 ton/m3 (about 2 lb/cubic foot). Losses from the demolition process are estimated as 10 to 11% of the remaining blowing agent charge. (BRE 2010) While foam waste represents a challenge (and opportunity) in terms of its impact on the stratospheric ozone layer and the atmosphere, it does not currently present a problem for the California waste management sector. The only foam that is being recovered and treated in California is appliances foam via dedicated appliance recyclers, who recover blowing agents from the foam, and send the recovered CFC or HCFC blowing agents to a recycling or destruction facility. The added cost of appliance foam recovery and recycling or destruction is paid for by the Electric Utilities and achieves a diversion of about 12% to 15%/year as a proportion of total units discarded. The remaining 85% to 88% of appliances reaching end-of-life are recycled by certified appliance recyclers or metal shredders who typically do not recover the foam prior...
Alternative Options for managing construction & demolition waste. The physical characteristics of the ODS-containing foam wastes that affect possible treatment/disposal options include the weight, volume and material composition. The demolition processes and segregation of wastes on demolition sites will impact on, for instance, the size of individual pieces of waste and its level of contamination. From a waste management perspective, these different ODS-containing foam wastes are unlikely to be handled as separate waste streams. There may be some exceptions to this if there are potential reuse opportunities for specific high quality products. However, in considering future waste management scenarios, we have assumed that the waste will generally be handled as one waste stream or possibly two streams; namely ‘PU Panels’ and ‘all other products’. PU Panels comprising foam cores between rigid facings. Facing materials are typically steel, aluminum or glass fiber reinforced plastic sheets. PU Panels which are faced with steel or aluminum are more attractive to recyclers owing to the metal content. PU Panels are typically comprised of 80% metal by weight. “All other products” will predominately consist of foam material. In terms of waste handling and transport of wastes, it is important to recognize that these wastes are voluminous, low density materials. As a result, transportation will be relatively expensive per ton of material handled. The average density of this collective waste stream (PU Panels and all other products) is estimated at 0.0354 ton/m3. Losses from demolition process are fairly high, ranging from 25 to 35% of the remaining blowing agent charge. While foam waste represents a challenge (& opportunity) in terms of its impact on the stratospheric ozone layer and the atmosphere, it does not currently present a problem for the California waste management sector. The only foam that is being recovered and treated in California is appliances foam via fridge recyclers. This is paid for by the Utilities and achieves a diversion of about 12% to 15%/year as proportion of total units discarded. The general consensus amongst demolition interview respondents was that at the moment only those materials that are practical to recover from the general demolition waste stream or those which have a value or are required to be segregated as a result of Regulation (Asbestos) or City ordinances (wood, steel) would be segregated. The segregation of ODS-containing foam is only likely to happen if it is policed or the demolition cont...
