CMRA Holds Largest Annual Meeting Ever

More than 330 attendees participated in the 15th C&D World, the Annual Meeting of the Construction Materials Recycling Association, March 28-30 at the Rio in Las Vegas. This was the largest meeting ever for the association, which has seen growth in recent years because of a variety of factors including the rise of green building in the United States. This included the largest exhibition area ever, as well as most revenue generated.

Two technical panels kicked off the meeting March 28. The first was on XRF analyzers, which will become more important for C&D recycles as they will need to be more conscious of contaminants that might flow into their facilities. The second panel was about shingle recycling, a rapidly growing segment of the C&D market.

Monday started with a rousing speech from Anthony Lomangino, CEO of the largest privately-held C&D recycling and hauling service in the United States. Dr. Jeffrey Melton from the University of New Hampshire then provided an update on studies evaluating the engineering characteristics of recycled aggregates.

A markets panel discussed three products: wood, Jeff Carter, Bio-fuels; asphalt shingles, Jason Haus, Dem-Con; and vinyl siding, Rich Krock, Vinyl Institute. A discussion of the U.S. Army’s Base Reduction Plan and the opportunities for demolition contractors and C&D recyclers was given by T.E. Shirley of the U.S. Army.

Monday evening the spectacular VooDoo Lounge atop the Rio was the site of the CMRA’s Issues & Education Fund fundraising event, where the most money ever was raised for the advocacy arm of the C&D recycling industry.

The Tuesday morning sessions began with a panel on LEED that included presentations from Wayne Dafoe, Dafoe and Associates, and Brad Guy, Material Reuse, and a member of the USGBC’s Materials & Resources TAG. Steve Cosper, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Lab, brought everyone up to date on research that showed recycling concrete with lead-based paint was a safe practice.

Sponsors for C&D World included Waste Management, Komatsu, Doppstadt , Machinex, Eagle Crusher Company, SPARTA Innovations, Apollo General Insurance Agency, Continental Biomass Industries, Paragon Resource Management, and Erin Recycling.

The next C&D World will be held March 23, 2011, at the Paris Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. It will be co-located with ConExpo-Con/Agg.

The CMRA is a 501c3 organization that promotes the recycling of construction and demolition materials in North America. Its main Web site is www.cdrecycling.org.

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