Another successful partnership involved a company that specializes in salvaging and refurbishing doors. Instead of sending 135 doors and their hardware to a landfill, we salvaged them and shipped them to be refinished, modified as needed, and prepared for use in future construction projects. That’ s a great example of true circularity.
One of the biggest reasons we’ re focused on this work is that Massachusetts is literally running out of landfill space. Current projections suggest the state’ s last active landfill could reach capacity by the end of 2030. We’ re literally running out of room to put construction and demolition waste, so finding better ways to recover and reuse materials has become increasingly important.
I remember going to a conference in Columbus, Ohio, and seeing an endless train filled with construction waste. I couldn’ t see the beginning or the end of it. That’ s where a lot of our construction waste gets shipped, to places like Ohio and New Hampshire. It reinforced for me that this isn’ t just about doing the right thing for the environment. We’ re physically running out of places to put construction waste. When we find successes like these doors, the ceiling tiles, or carpet take-back programs, it really helps.
SB: You mentioned you’ ve been with Turner for 10 years. I’ m assuming sustainability wasn’ t as prominent when you first started. Has it evolved from something in the background to a much bigger priority today?
KG: Definitely. I’ d say it’ s become much more urgent over the last four or five years.
When I first started, Turner didn’ t have dedicated sustainability staff in our region. There were people working on sustainability at the national level, but locally it was something employees handled alongside their regular responsibilities.
Today, that’ s changed significantly. We have dedicated sustainability professionals, and sustainability is viewed through a completely different lens. Everyone on the project team, from entry-level field engineers to project executives, is involved in the conversation. It’ s reviewed during our earliest project planning meetings and continues to be tracked throughout the life of every project.
135 salvaged doors, totaling 9.5 tons, were diverted from the landfill for reuse in future projects.
The biggest difference I’ ve seen is the level of commitment from people whose primary job isn’ t sustainability. On the New Hampshire project, the senior project manager, Sean Pinette, and superintendent, Cliff Hosley, became genuinely excited about these initiatives. They just needed a little guidance about the available resources and options, but once they understood the process, they really embraced it. Turner is committed to diverting 95 % of construction and demolition waste by 2035, and we need every member of the project supporting this effort.
SB: It almost sounds like it becomes fun figuring out what materials can be reused. Can you explain“ circularity” in simple terms?
KG: At its core, circularity is about keeping materials out of landfills while reducing the need for new raw materials.
Take the doors from our New Hampshire project, for example. Instead of throwing them away and cutting down trees to manufacture new doors, we’ re extending the life of an existing product by refurbishing it and installing it in another building.
Recycling is certainly beneficial, but it still requires energy and resources to manufacture a new product.
Salvaged doors were crated and prepared for transport to a salvage company, where they’ ll be refinished for reuse. Photos courtesy of Kyle Gillen
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