All of the Summit View Apartments are scheduled to be removed by January.
University of Wyoming officials estimate that 85 percent of the building materials in a major deconstruction project are being recycled.
The Summit View Apartment deconstruction project's first phase involves deconstructing 32 two-bedroom and 60 one-bedroom apartments in 23 buildings south of Willett Drive between Crane and Soule Streets to Coe Street.
The project's contractor is separating all of the similar materials into piles to be loaded and distributed for recycling and re-use. Among the items being recycled are wood framing, wood rafters/beams, concrete slabs/foundations, metal components and wood trim/doors.
"This Phase 1 recycling effort will divert approximately 15,000 cubic yards of material from the Laramie landfill," says Roger Balmaan, director of Facilities Planning. "This is 15 percent of the landfill's yearly waste capacity." He says some of the materials are be used to construct a shed at the ACRES farm, a student-managed agricultural operation.
The apartments are the oldest housing on campus and have outlived their useful lives, Balmaan says. All of the Summit View apartments are scheduled to be removed by next January.
More information about UW recycling is available on the Sustainability Web page here.
