GREEN BUILDING
How contractors can grow and profit by minimizing the environmental impact of construction projects
When Francis Kent began recycling paving material nearly 30 years ago, he had to convince a lot of people the products made from crushed concrete and asphalt were an acceptable alternative to the construction building materials that come out of a conventional quarry.
"In the early 1980s, recycling wasn’t
fashionable,” said John Kent, who joined
his father in the family business and is now
President of Oxford Recycling. “We had to
fight to establish ourselves and prove to
various municipalities and contractors that just
because our product is recycled, that doesn’t
mean it’s not as good as a virgin product. It
meets required specs, and in fact, often exceeds
them. But back then, we had a terrible time
trying to convince people of that.”
Eventually the practice caught on and the
Kents today are running a large operation that
sees upward of 1,000 trucks per day either
delivering or picking up product. They’ve
added tree grinding to their operation,
producing valuable mulch from what formerly
may have been landfilled, burned or buried.
The rest of the construction industry is fast approaching the Kents’ lead in what’s rapidly becoming known as “green building,” “sustainable design” or other terms that point to the idea of minimizing environmental impact through reducing the consumption of nonrenewable resources and waste.