9 min read
Bin Strategy for Commercial Construction Jobs
Swap cycles, material sorting, and how to bill waste as a line item on commercial construction jobs without eating margin.
On any job over $500K, waste becomes a real line item. The trap is treating disposal as one bucket — mixed C&D waste is 3 to 5x more expensive than sorted clean wood, clean concrete, or clean metal.
A disciplined GC runs three bins minimum: mixed, clean wood, and clean metal. On demolition-heavy jobs, add a fourth for concrete. Recycling rebates on the clean streams typically cover 60-80% of the mixed-bin cost.
Swap frequency matters more than bin size. A 30-yard swapped every 3 days is cheaper than a 40-yard that sits full for a week and blocks the site.