Green Demolition in New York City
The world is finally going green. One way this is being demonstrated is in the deconstruction of abandoned buildings in the city of Manhattan. Many cities around the world have set up energy and conservation programs, such as the desalination plants in Singapore, the wind-energy plants in Southern California, and the energy efficient traffic lights on the island of Mallorca of the coast of Spain. The city of Manhattan offers a part in the conservation of the environment in the way buildings are now being constructed, as well as destructed.
Green building of businesses and New York hotel suites, restaurants, and apartment flats means that anything newly construct must meet certain standards of energy and water conservation, among other various categories. This has been a huge step noted and in the spotlight, but now, what is of concern is the tearing down of buildings. Disposing of waste, the concrete, metal, and wood that would have otherwise been transported to landfills, a challenge for waste management in the past. The discarded material now accounts for over sixty percent of the solid waste for the city. About 20,000 tons of metal and steel and stones is produced per day. And that does not include the 20,000 tons of wood and asphalt and glass that needed to previously be disposed of, moved from one location to the other via small trucks, then bigger trucks. This causes negative effects in other environmental arenas such as air quality, traffic pollution and landfill limitations.
Demolition done green, is the process of deconstructed the buildings in the manner that they were originally built. Instead of bulldozing and sweeping it all up, buildings are being meticulously taken apart. Systematic and orderly torn down. Construction workers are now taking the buildings apart and putting the various materials into piles. Piles of material that are sorted at the site, to either be re-used on the spot, or re-used and recycled in other locations. This has the combined effect of not only saving money, but it reduces the usage of smaller, then bigger trucks…reducing air pollution. And since materials are being re-used, they are not ending up in the landfills. It is estimated that ninety percent of the materials can be used to build again. Ninety percent! That is such a huge percentage. This is an incredible idea and an incredible achievement for a city already known and experienced in the process of rebuilding.
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