Building Material Exchange aims to keep B.C. building waste out of landfills [Video]

Gil Yaron barely contains his excitement when asked to describe his non-profit venture to convince construction companies, developers and renovation contractors to recycle tonnes of building material waste on Vancouver Island.

“We’re the Tinder of the construction sector,” he said, chuckling at the reference to the online dating application. “We’re the matchmaker.”

Yaron said it’s not a sexy topic, enticing construction companies to keep waste materials on their projects from being sent to landfills, but he’s looking to build relationships that benefit developers and the environment.

“It’s trying to connect companies directly. It’s trying to create those relationships,” he said.

Recently, more than 150 development industry leaders, including those in contracting, manufacturing, demolition, deconstruction and waste management, gathered in Nanaimo and Victoria to nail down partnerships to keep waste materials in circulation and out of the dump.

The launch in November of the Building Material Exchange, abbreviated to BMEx, aims …