Up to one-fourth of the wood used in new home construction ends up as waste. To combat this problem, some contractors employ eco-friendly building practices, such as reusing leftover scrap lumber for blocking when framing, then grinding up any remaining waste wood for use as mulch in landscaping the home.

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A recent study showed that up to 25% of the wood used in new construction winds up as waste, which is pretty disturbing. It’s like throwing a hundred dollar bill away for every $400 worth of lumber you purchase.

Fortunately, more contractors are starting to think green, and recycling has become a big part of the building process. Instead of winding up in a dumpster or a burn pile, scrap pieces of lumber are gathered up and used on other jobs for blocking.

Or contractors will use a service, like this one called Grindzilla, to come in and grind the scrap lumber down to use for mulch on the job site. Some contractors are even going as far as renting an industrial chipper and grinding down the scraps themselves.

The best thing we can do is to support and use these contractors or ask the tough questions to all the others about why they aren’t doing the same things.