The Ottawa Valley Waste Recovery Centre’s Construction & Demolition (C&D) Site is an area where residents and businesses can drop off their separated shingles, wood waste, drywall, brush, concrete/brick, scrap metal and tires.   Mixed loads of C&D waste are also accepted April thru October.  Current tipping fees do apply.

It is important to keep construction and demolition material out of the landfill for many reasons. One reason is the fact that the material is bulky and takes up valuable landfill space. Another reason is that when drywall is exposed to wet conditions it produces hydrogen sulphide gas; contributing to landfill leachate toxicity, landfill gas generation as well as producing odours.

Unsorted Construction & Demolition Waste

From April 1st to October 31st unsorted loads of construction and demolition waste are received at the C&D Site.  All loads are inspected and if they can be reasonably sorted by OVWRC staff, they will be deposited in the sorting area.  Loads that are not able to be sorted are directed to Landfill.

Once deposited in the sorting area, material is hand sorted or sorted by equipment; separating drywall, scrap metal, concrete/brick, cardboard and wood waste.

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Sorted Construction and Demolition Waste

Sorted loads of wood waste, drywall, shingles, scrap metal, concrete/brick, tires and brush are unloaded directly into the separated piles of material where they are then ready for processing and marketing.

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Processing and Marketing

Material received at the C&D site is either ground up, screened or shipped off site for recycling.

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Scrap metal is shipped to scrap metal processors who sort and shred the materials; separating the different types of metals which are sent to smelters to be melted down into new metal products.

Drywall is screened to remove the paper.  The remaining gypsum, which is a source of calcium sulfur, is a valuable nutrient source for your soil.  Gypsum is available for sale at OVWRC 

Shingles are ground up for use as Alternative Daily Cover (ADC) at our landfill.  At the end of every day, staff must cover the garbage to reduce odours and keep litter to a minimum. By using shingles as ADC it reduces the need to harvest virgin material from local gravel pits.

Tires are shipped off site to be recycled through the provincial program operated by Ontario Tire Stewardship.  Tires are ground up and turned into many valuable products including rubber mats, landscaping tiles and even mulch (some which is used in the pathway of our Visitor’s Entrance garden).

Concrete/brick is used on site as inert fill when building roads.

Wood waste and brush is ground up to produce a raw wood mulch, approximately 2″ sized chips.  It is available for sale at OVWRC.

Compost, a valuable soil amendment, generated from the residential green cart program is also sold at the C&D site.

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