Projo Biz Blog

Journal archive photo / Mary Murphy
Workers operate heavy equipment last May at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

PROVIDENCE -- Gilbane Inc., construction manager for the $80.5-million renovation of the Dunkin' Donuts Center, says it has saved $100,000 in waste disposal costs through an aggressive recycling program.

In all, Gilbane says it has recycled 10.2 million pounds of concrete, 83 percent of all waste generated at the Sabin Street site. The Providence-based company also recycled 740,000 pounds of asphalt and 537,660 pounds of metal, diverting it from the Central Landfill and avoiding huge tipping fees.

The subcontractors hired by Gilbane have recycled 11.7 million pounds of debris, 95 percent of all material removed from the building, according to James P. McCarvill, executive director of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, the state agency that bought the arena from the City of Providence in late 2006.

The $100,000 in savings comes after additional spending to segregate construction waste and send the material to recycling facilities is accounted for, McCarvill said. "Everything that could be recycled, was recycled," he said. "It's an effort to be aggressive in that regard."

"It's stuff that didn't have to go to the landfill and take up space," McCarvill said. "It's a win all around."

The savings are good news for a project that has greatly exceeded its original budget, resulting in an additional $12.5-million allocation from the legislature approved last summer.

The operator of the state's main landfill, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, has been promoting recycling as a way to extend the landfill's life, The Providence Journal has reported. At the current pace of trash disposal, the landfill is expected to reach its capacity in two years.

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