If you purchase a property with an existing structure that needs to be torn down, your first step is to make sure that the demolition process is safe and effective. You can’t use the property for building or development until the unsound structure is properly removed.

Demolition of existing structures can be more complex than you might think. Follow these guidelines and considerations in order to make sure the demolition safely removes the structure without endangering the property or the people at work.

If you have to clean up a rental property after a tenant has left, you have a big job ahead of you. A dumpster rental can help you easily dispose of waste; often, this speeds up the renovation process. Before you get started, read the following tips.

1. Line Up Contractors Before Choosing a Dumpster

Assuming you’re planning to do some work on the house and you’re going to be hiring some professionals, meet with all contractors before choosing a dumpster.

Dumpster rentals typically last for seven days, although you may be able to extend your rental if the situation requires it. Having all contractors come in to do their work within this seven-day period is the easiest way to ensure easy disposal of remodeling debris.

Commercial dumpster rental can be costly, especially if you’re planning a large remodel. Savvy shoppers can save money by planning right and staying organized. These 10 tips help you spend less money on your dumpster rental, so you can spend more money on your commercial remodel.

1. Narrow Down the Timeline for When You’ll Need a Dumpster

You may not need a dumpster for the duration of the entire remodel. You’ll either pay for your dumpster by the day, by the week, or by the month, depending on your needs. If you can shave time off of your rental, you can save money. Communicate with your contractor to find out details like when the remodel will begin, when a dumpster rental will become necessary, and about how long the dumpster rental will be needed. This will help you avoid paying for more time than is necessary.

An on-site dumpster is a definite time-saver when you have to rip off old shingles and install a new roof. But, you have several other ways to make your re-roofing job more efficient and problem-free. Whether you’re a roofing contractor or you plan to replace your own roof, follow these five tips for easy and safe roofing waste removal.

1. Have a Plan for Roofing Waste

In some parts of Illinois, you can dispose of used shingles yourself by dumping the waste materials at a landfill. However, if a landfill is located close to a shingle-recycling facility, the landfill may not be able to accept old shingles. Check the local laws and ordinances regarding roofing-material disposal before you order any roofing-related dumpsters. In some cases, if your shingles have asbestos, you must hire a licensed roofing contractor to remove and dispose of used roofing materials.

If you want ways to reduce how many trash bags you send to the curb each week, you might already actively recycle and reuse items instead of throwing them away. However, if you want to reduce your waste even further, you might look into composting.

Making your own compost can be rewarding. By choosing to compost, you help to reduce your ecological footprint and create a resource that gives back to the environment. Learn more about how composting can benefit your household and how you can get started.

Benefits of Composting

Did you know that around half of the garbage that people put in the trash can each week is compostable? Food scraps make up half of all compostable discarded waste, but yard trimmings, paper and cardboard, and even scraps of wood are compostable materials. Sending these items to the compost instead of to the landfill offers some amazing benefits.

Waste tires are a persistent and widespread problem in the United States. Many individuals assume that they can handle tire disposal on their own, either by stockpiling used tires on their land or by dumping tires in unregulated areas.

In our previous blog, “Tire Recycling Options and Why They Matter,” we discussed the astonishing statistics about waste tires and the benefits of recycling tires rather than sending them to a landfill or disposing of them yourself.

You’ve probably already heard many of the reasons recycling is a good idea. You might even know that recycling one ton of aluminum saves 14,000 kWh of energy or that recycling one ton of glass prevents the release of 7.5 pounds of air pollutants.

But there’s a difference between knowing something is good and actually doing it. Perhaps recycling intimidates you because you’re not sure which items are recyclable. You might also wonder how you actually go about recycling items around your house.

Fortunately, recycling can be simple if you follow these preparation tips for various recyclable items.

Cans and Jars

If you drink soda or eat canned food regularly, you likely go through quite a few cans every week. Fortunately, you can recycle them. At recycling plants, cans are melted and turned into new cans and other products.

Demolition work may sound like fun—after all, who doesn’t like to take things apart and make a mess once in a while? However, demolition involves far more than just hitting things to see how they break. In fact, demolition is a tightly regulated industry and process since it has the potential to be very dangerous.

Depending on the area and the building that needs to be torn down, professionals will use different techniques to safely get rid of the existing structure. Learn four common demolition techniques and when they’re used—and if you need demolition services, make sure to contact a professional like Tri-State Disposal Inc. instead of trying it yourself.

1. Implosion

Implosion demolitions are the flashiest way to get rid of an existing structure. Demolition professionals carefully place explosives to knock out a building’s structural supports, causing it to collapse in on itself. The process is very effective and takes very little time.

You and your family understand the importance of recycling. You carefully sort your paper, plastics, and aluminum. Whenever possible, you reuse plastic bags and repurpose old items around the home so they serve a new function. And you buy products made from recycled materials.

However, you feel that your efforts are outweighed by your neighbors’ negligence. Though you try hard to recycle on your own, many in your community don’t seem to care about protecting the environment. And many more don’t even bother to throw their trash in the dumpster, let alone take their recyclable items to the nearest center.

You recycle because you know it’s the right thing to do. You know recycling benefits your community and the environment. But each time you recycle a can, a bottle, or a newspaper, you wonder what happens to it. Was recycling worth it?

Here, we’ll go over some of the most common recyclable materials and their journey beyond the recycling bin.

Metal

Two types of metal-aluminum and steel-are recycled and reused every day. You’ve probably recycled aluminum cans many times. When you do, these cans go to a smelter, where employees grind the aluminum into small chips, melt it, and send it to a manufacturing plant. At the plant, workers roll new sheets of aluminum. Out of these sheets, they create new aluminum products. These products include:

• Cans
• Car bodies
• Aluminum foil

Now, how about steel? You might not know that tin cans are actually made of steel and coated in tin. When you recycle a tin can, manufacturers flatten it and remove the tin coating. They sell the steel to a steel mill, where manufacturers create other steel products. These products could include appliances, steel beams, and car parts.

What about the tin coating? Well, people can reuse that, too, particularly in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

Glass

You may wonder how your glass products are reused, especially if they have chips or cracks. Fortunately, a broken bottle is not a problem. Manufacturers crush recycled glass into small pieces. People use crushed glass as part of the following:

• Sports turf
• Bricks
• Paved surfaces

They can also create new glass containers and even stained glass.

Plastic

There are many different types of plastics, and even more potential applications. Recycling workers must separate all your plastic products based on type. They then shred them into flakes and melt them into pellets to sell to companies. Here’s how people reuse different types of plastics:

• High-density polyethylene: car parts, toys, flower pots
• PET: carpet backing, backpacks, sleeping bag insulation
• Mixed plastics: plastic lumber, pallets

It’s exciting to think about what your plastic products might become. A milk jug could become a chair, or a detergent bottle could become a Frisbee.

Paper

As with plastic, manufacturers sort paper by type. At a paper mill, manufacturers follow these steps:

• They use a chemical wash to separate the ink from the paper.
• They mix the paper with water to create a pulp.
• They remove contaminants and bleach the paper mixture.
• They use machines to remove water from the mixture.
• They place the mixture into rollers that dry and flatten it.

Through this process, manufacturers can produce new paper (or other items such as toilet paper).

Cardboard

When you recycle shoe boxes, cereal boxes, or other cardboard items, they could return as boxes or paper bags.

When a paper mill receives your cardboard, manufacturers create a pulp, just like they do with other kinds of paper. They add wood chip pulp to strengthen it. They then roll and dry it to create two kinds of cardboard: the inner layer (called the medium) and the outer layers (called the linerboard). Finally, they send both types of cardboard to a box-board plant, where manufacturers form it into new cardboard.

The next time you’re about to throw away that milk jug or that cereal box, place them in the recycling bin instead. Your recycled items actually do make a difference. They go through a comprehensive process to become new items. If you don’t have a recycling service in your area, talk to your landlord or manager about adding one. In the meantime, you can take your recyclables to a recycling center.