Transcript:
When a wrecking ball demolishes a building, the debris is typically sent to a landfill. But by carefully deconstructing buildings instead, builders could reuse many of the old materials in new construction.
In addition to reducing landfill waste, that would limit the energy needed to make and transport new materials, benefiting the climate.
Fope Bademosi is with the company Autodesk’s research division.
She says builders could salvage more than just easily removable pieces like doors and windows. She recently studied how to reuse gypsum drywall.
Bademosi: “The United States alone generates approximately 13 million tons of gypsum wallboard debris annually, and 85% typically ends up in the landfill.”
Bademosi and her colleagues use cameras, sensors, and thermal imaging to look inside a wall and spot flaws like cracks to determine what’s reusable and how to remove the drywall.
She says the process takes more effort, but could save builders money on disposal and materials.
Bademosi: “We simply cannot address climate change effectively without changing how we approach construction, deconstruction, and construction materials and waste.”
Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
