TRUE Zero Waste Certification for Construction Sites

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by construction sites. It must have come from my  grandfather, who was a construction worker all his life. He worked on countless construction sites, mainly on civil construction projects,  building roads, bridges and canals.  He managed to raise a family without ever learning how to read or write. I have fond memories of him always tinkering,  building or fixing something at my parents house. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for sparking my interest in construction.  Thank you Vovo Bubu (grandpa Bubu - is how he was affectionately known to me. ).

I got my first job in the sustainability industry in Brazil over seventeen years ago. l Naturally it was related to the construction waste that LEED projects were generating during that time. I was interested in finding a job, any job really that would give me the opportunity to work with waste.  Fortunately, the engineering company that was responsible for those first LEED projects in South America was desperate to find a professional that had a keen interest in  waste, construction, and sustainability.  That was me to a T! During my seven years of work in Brazil, I traveled around the country  visiting all sorts of construction sites,I helped this engineering company to create an entire department dedicated to sustainable construction sites,I had the invaluable opportunity to train more than 1,000 people about recycling and other sustainability related concepts.  I learned so much from the workers - most of them, like my grandfather,  did not know how to read or write.  They were essential in helping me create training sessions using their reality, with images and training sessions that gave them the opportunity to speak. I will never forget, when a construction worker raised his hand during one of the training sessions focused on the reuse of materials,  and  he said, “Do you know that my wife also reuses things in my house?   She makes pudding using old bread, and It’s so good!” Right then I knew the concepts were sinking in.

 After all these years, I’ve  become even more passionate about construction sites! To this day, I still get a rush of excitement and happiness each time I’m required to do a  construction site visit. .I’m so grateful to be working on multiple LEED, WELL and Fitwel construction projects. 

Now, I have another, equally inspiring reason to visit construction sites! I’m so thrilled to announce that my team and I are working on some of the the first TRUE zero waste construction sites in the world! 

Here at All About Waste we have been working hard to bring the zero waste and circular economy message to all. We have been working on several remarkable and trailblazer projects! I sometimes feel like 20 years ago when I started to work with LEED projects. No one knew how to LEED completely and most of the stakeholders (including manufacturers and vendors) had to adapt fast to incorporate the “LEED language” in their corporate culture and products. 

Now, my team and I are in the process of learning and educating all the project’s stakeholders about how to design and build a zero waste building. I’m so happy and proud of our clients for taking this big and first step towards a more circular future! We are all somehow a little illiterate in zero waste for construction sites because it’s so new and no one has done this before (at least on a systemic way and toward a certification) but we are not giving us! Like my grandpa never gave up! We will keep learning along the way and making progress toward a more sustainable society. 

We are happy to talk more about TRUE zero waste for construction sites and share with you what we have been doing and learning!