Material Recovery Journal

Field guides to building material scrap

Concrete, timber, metal, and drywall, sorted honestly. We look at what gets separated, what may be reused, and what questions are still worth asking.

Core scrap streams

Three streams we cover

Each stream behaves differently once it leaves the site. Start with what the material is.

Timber offcuts

Lengths of dimensional lumber, sheathing, and plywood often leave a site in usable condition. Sorting by species and treatment comes first.

Masonry rubble

Broken concrete, brick, and block are heavy and bulky. Knowing whether a fragment is reinforced or plain changes how it is handled.

Scrap architectural metal

Flashing, rebar, and sheet metal are separated by alloy and coating. Clean, labeled piles make recovery questions easier to answer.

Our approach

Name the material before deciding what happens next