Recycling and reusing materials

​With sustainability being so prevalent, we thought we would take some time to explain how we handle our debris. We get all types of debris from straight trash to grass clippings and we are always looking for the best ways to recycle and reuse them.
                                                                  
Grass clippings: Some of our clients expect to have their lawns bagged. We are against this practice since the clippings provide a natural fertilizer and we prefer to discharge the clippings finely into the lawn. When we do bag, there are two types of lawns they come from. Fertilized or non-fertilized lawns. If we suspect the clippings are fertilized, we will pay to bring them to Gallivan’s in Watervliet where they combine the green waste with other materials to make mulch. If we know the property is not fertilized, then we bring the clippings to local urban farms for composting.
 
Leaves: All of our leaf debris is brought to the local urban farms where they use it for composting and amending their soils. They also use it as a mulch around their plants to prevent weeds. We bring truckloads upon truckloads and they keep wanting more! They told us that smaller gardeners and farmers will come pick up the leaves for the same purpose.
 
Concrete/Brick/Block/Stone: Concrete is second most consumed product after water. It is used everywhere. When we put in a new slab or fix a crumbling chimney, we inevitably have rejected materials that need disposing. Some contractors will just bring the clean fill to an embankment and toss it over and use it to fill a hole of some sort. While there are times that we do the same, we also prefer to bring these materials to Gallivan’s concrete/asphalt recycling center in Glenmont. They take the debris and crush it, making aggregate that is used for road base, additive to new concrete, or many other situations where a stable additive or base is needed. This recycling reduces carbon emissions that are associated with mining new aggregates and the materials are closer to the final destination, reducing the trucking associated with bringing them to the cities they will finally go to. Concrete accounts for 15% of landfills capacity so we are proud to recycle this material.
 
Apshalt: Sometimes we remove driveways or asphalt walkways when we install pavers or concrete. We take this same material to Gallivan’s concrete/asphalt recycling center in Glenmont. Apshalt can be ground down and reheated to create new asphalt. There are huge economic savings in this as well benefits to the environment.