'Tinder of construction' aims to keep B.C. building waste out of landfills

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.

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 at getting the word out to the construction and development community that their project leftovers have value, said Yaron, the managing director of circulation innovation at Light House, the Vancouver-based non-profit behind the exchange.

The unique in-Canada program, funded by regional districts in Nanaimo, Cowichan Valley, Victoria and the City of Nanaimo, is free to join, he said.