CDRA announces 2022 awards recipients

The Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA) has announced its 2022 awards recipients:

• Dan Costello from Costello Dismantling Co. Inc. in West Wareham, Massachusetts, will be inducted into the C&D Hall of Fame at C&D World 2022.
• Posillico Materials in Farmingdale, New York, has been named C&D Recycler of the Year.
• Becky Caldwell from Caldwell Environmental Solutions in Nashville, Tennessee, has been named CDRA Member of the Year.

“All of the 2022 CDRA winners have helped move the C&D industry forward,” says Jason Haus, CEO of Dem-Con Co. and CDRA president. “Thanks to their efforts the C&D industry is better off.”

C&D Hall of Fame

Long-time CDRA supporter Dan Costello, founder and president of Costello Dismantling Co. Inc., will be inducted into the C&D Hall of Fame. Costello has always recycled demolition debris and has remained innovative in finding ways to recover more materials from his company’s demolition projects. While this thinking may be more common in the demolition industry today, the CDRA says Costello made his company a pioneer in this approach.

He served as a CDRA board member for many years and chaired a task force that put together the first specifications for construction and demolition (C&D) wood fuel. His company also owns crushing equipment to process rubble into a recycled aggregate. Costello and his wife, Joan, are involved in their local community, and the next generation of Costellos is active in the company.

“The CDRA really appreciates Dan’s long service on the board of directors and Costello Dismantling’s continued membership. Dan’s unique and environmentally conscience art of demolition and recycling are respected not only in the United States, but worldwide,” says Haus.

C&D Recycler of the Year

Posillico Materials is being recognized for its long-time aggregate recycling operations, and for its innovative use of a wash plant to turn what are considered contaminated materials, which previously went to the landfill, into construction material end products. Posillico’s operations include:

• Five permanent concrete recycling operations that each have their own crushing systems and supply spec recycled aggregate for various markets
• Two HMA plants that use recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) in their mixes as much as possible.
• A wash plant that takes in excavation waste, RUCARBS, contaminated fill, general fill, vacuum truck and dredge waste, and mixed loads, and from that turns out various end products, such as washed sand.

According to the CDRA, the addition of the wash plant shows Posillico’s willingness to take a risk to recover more materials, and the company’s R&D department is actively looking for more materials to recycle. In addition, despite taking in what is considered contaminated materials, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation works closely with Posillico and supports the company’s efforts in recycling.

CDRA Member of the Year

In the past year, Becky Caldwell from Caldwell Environmental Solutions has stepped forward to rejuvenate and expand the CDRA’s Safety & Risk Management Committee, convening meetings to discuss safety issues facing recyclers, as well as starting subgroups for human resource managers in the construction and demolition (C&D) field. She has also been an active member of the CDRA’s Environmental Justice Task Force, participated in several CDRA committees, and attended all in-person CDRA meetings.

“Becky has made significant contributions to the CDRA during the past year and I am very grateful for her leadership and work related to the Safety & Risk Management Committee,” says Haus.

The award winners will be honored as part of the CDRA’s Annual Membership Meeting at C&D World 2022, taking place March 13-15 in Atlanta.