The project included a 22,000 sf sorting and recycling building; the planning for the construction project started in October and construction began in November, after state permits and approvals took several years to win. The building’s floor was constructed to withstand the constant dropping of tons of construction debris, and its 18-inch thick walls were built to withstand the constant impact of bucket trucks against it as workers scoop up debris for sorting or disposal. In order to pour the building’s foundation, workers with Enviro Consulting and Recyclers of Danbury, used water pumps and filters to “de-water” the ground to allow the concrete to cure.

Rizzo also installed the giant sorter that separates loads of construction debris for recycling or disposal. Once the building and sorting equipment inside was complete, trucks dropped construction debris on the floor and bucket vehicles picked it up and dropped it on the conveyor line, where workers sifted through it to remove recyclable goods.

One advantage of the new building is that debris are now dropped and sorted inside a building. The new building even has a mist system to sprinkle water over the debris to hold down dust; in the former outside system, the materials were dumped outside and workers sprayed it with hoses to reduce dust.

To protect the electrical and water systems, Rizzo bought and recycled an old concrete building which it installed next to the sorting building. That smaller, 200-square-foot building holds the electrical and water systems where the services are protected from all the activity inside the main facility.

On the northwest exterior side of the new building, a train stop was also put in. The rail line and new scale runs into the building so bucket loaders can pick up the sorted construction debris in the building and load it into rail cars for disposal elsewhere.

Maple trees, junipers, and hemlocks were also planted to shield neighbors from the building. On the inside of the plantings, a fence was also erected, replacing the temporary construction fence.