The Ultimate Green Construction Waste Removal Quiz

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that Americans generated 136 million tons of construction waste in 2008. This accounts for 25 to 40 percent of the national waste stream.

Deconstruction is when trained construction crews are brought in to dismantle buildings so that anything than can be reused is salvaged and put back into the market.

About 80 percent of construction waste is salvaged using green deconstruction.

Deconstruction can cost about $10,000 more than bulldozing the site, due to labor costs. However, you can get some of the money back when you sell the salvaged materials and you will save yourself landfill charges. Material donations will get you some tax credits as well.

Having LEED Certification adds value to the construction project.

Sorting materials onsite helps to keep them in better shape, making them worth more when they are resold. However, it can be time consuming and takes up space to have many different sorting bins. Each state has different laws for how to sort materials, so check with your local council to find out what you need to do.

Green demolition is mandatory in San Diego and is becoming mandatory in other cities across the U.S. In San Diego, developers have to pay a large deposit when they file for a building permit and only get their deposit back if they can prove that at least 50 percent of the construction waste was reused or recycled.

You have probably heard the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle." While people generally use the term recycling to describe all of these acts, recycling is actually the most expensive of the three, since it requires processing old materials into new products.

Wood, drywall and cardboard make up about three-quarters of construction waste so try and incorporate them into your building design to use as much of them as you can.

Renovators working on older homes seek salvaged wood flooring, because it has original designs and because many old floorboard sizes are no longer manufactured.

Sometimes it is possible to work around what you already have, rather than tearing it out and starting again. For example, you can tile over an old tile floor or backsplash rather than pulling out the old tiles.

There is a good chance you have lead paint on your walls if you house was build before 1978. Buy a home test kit from your local hardware store to check.

If you find that your house has lead paint the best thing is to cover it with new paint or wallpaper. You need to consult a professional if you decide to demolish the walls.

Salvage yards and organizations such as Habitat for Humanity will accept items like old lumber, old appliances, large pieces of drywall, leftover paint and doors and windows.

Many modern artists use salvaged waste materials in their artwork. As the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure.