Repurposing Materials Away from Landfills

By: Damon Carson, Founder and President, repurposedMATERIALs

If there is anyone truly aware of the amount of waste that ends up in landfills every year, and the long-term problems this poses, it’s solid waste professionals.

They are well aware that Americans produce about 4.4 pounds of trash a day, which amounts to roughly 728,000 tons of daily garbage, enough to fill 63,000 garbage trucks.

And they are cognizant that about half of that winds up in the landfill.

For half a century, the solution to the waste problem has been recycling. But recycling involves the reprocessing of materials. Recycling keeps a portion of the junk out of the landfill. But is there some way to more efficiently reduce waste?

One innovative company believes the answer is ‘yes,’ and the solution is not recycling. It’s “repurposing.”   

Rather than melting, shredding, chipping or grinding – the recycling process – repurposedMATERIALS finds new uses for materials in their current form. An old fire hose becomes a boat dock guard. A worn out conveyor belt becomes a gun range ballistics curtain. A retired street sweeper brush becomes a scratching post for cattle.

“If something is obsolete to the primary user, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value somewhere,” repurposedMATERIALS owner Damon Carson said. “If you find yourself saying ‘I can’t use this. What am I going to do with it?’ that’s where we come in.”   

repurposedMATERIALS took in the old University of California – Berkeley home basketball court. The same basketball flooring was “repurposed” as a whimsical dividing wall at the new rec center in New Braunfels, TX.

Before

After

Carson challenges those in every industry to consider if there are “repurpose-able” options for their obsolete materials before simply banishing them to the landfill.

Additionally, he encourages solid waste professionals to refer producers of large amounts of waste to him before they haul off their potentially “repurpose-able” materials. 

“It makes sense environmentally and economically,” Carson said. “Giving materials a second life keeps them out of the landfill, which can come with surprising cost savings.”

Repurposing is at the intersection of affordability and sustainability. For the one getting rid of waste, there may be a savings over paying to dispose of the material. And for the one utilizing repurposed material over a primary-purpose product, there is typically a savings of 50 to 75%.

“We all have a part to play in attacking waste in America,” Carson said. “If you can avoid paying for disposal, and you can keep it out of the landfill, it’s a win-win.”

Carson believes he can help solid waste professionals divert a significant amount of waste before it reaches the landfill.

“Your options are the trash truck or the repurposed materials truck,” Carson said. “One truck is going to take it and bury it. The other truck is going to give it a second life.”

For advice on repurposing materials, contact Carson by telephone at 720-615-0281, or by email at damon@repurposedmaterialsinc.com.

About the Author

Damon Carson is the owner and founder of repurposedMATERIALS.  With yards in Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Iowa, and South Carolina, his company has a very unique business model focused on “repurposing” waste and obsolete materials from Corporate America.

repurposedMATERIALS is actually Damon’s second foray into the waste stream of America albeit with a very different and unique business model.  Several years back, he sold a garbage company that he had co-owned in the Colorado ski resorts of Vail and Breckenridge to Waste Management.