Developing A Food Processing Plant From The Ground Up

Whether you're doing a home remodeling job yourself or hiring it to be done, there is likely to be old building material to dispose of. If you've hired a contractor, often they will take responsibility for disposal, but not always. So you may be interested to know about how to best get rid of unwanted wood, drywall, carpeting and the like. 

Renting a Dumpster

One of the easiest ways to take care of old building materials is to rent a dumpster and put all your unwanted trash in there. This is usually more cost efficient than hiring someone to haul away the waste, plus you have a good estimate of how much space you have available. 

Your dumpster rental company should be able to advise you on what size of container you'll need; sizes start at 6 cubic yards. Common sizes also include 10, 20, 30 and 40 cubic yards -- the latter for especially large projects. For a smaller container that would typically be suitable for a home remodeling project involving one or two rooms, you can estimate anywhere from $300-500.

One tip: Ask about getting a container with lower sides. High sides make it challenging for the average homeowners to easily throw materials in.

Reusing Materials

You know you won't be able to reinstall that old drywall, but you can make it work for you. Smash it into smaller chunks and bury it in your garden. The drywall is made of calcium sulfate, which will give good nutrition to your plants. 

A couple of things to watch for: 

• Make sure your drywall is not so old that it could potentially contain asbestos or be covered with lead paint. If your drywall was replaced since the 1970s, you should be good to go. 
• Peel off and dispose of the paper on the drywall so it is easier for the material to break down in soil. 
• Don't use drywall on an organic garden. It is not considered an organic treatment.

You can also reuse old wood for projects around the house. Use old carpeting that is still in decent shape for pet houses and trees or kids' playhouses.

If you can't use the materials yourself, list them on your local free classified ad service or donate them to a charity like Habitat for Humanity, which runs stores where people can purchase used home construction items.

With a little bit of planning, you can get rid of your unwanted home remodeling materials by either disposing of them in the proper way or by reusing them for other purposes.