Abstract:
A method and apparatus for containing and removing construction debris at a construction site. The apparatus comprises a base having low side walls and side boards mated therewith to form a construction debris container. The base is preferably molded plastic having collapsible side board stabilizers molded therein. The side boards are preferably conventional sheets of plywood. In the preferred embodiment, the base is delivered to a construction site and the side boards are disposed inside the side walls and secured together with a joiner to form a substantially rigid construction debris container. Once the container is filled with construction debris, the debris is removed from the container using relatively lightweight equipment such as a grapple. The construction debris container is then disassembled and removed from the construction site.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates generally to a method for material handling. This invention relates particularly to a method for containing and removing construction debris. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Residential and commercial construction sites often generate a large amount of dry waste and debris of highly varying sizes. This debris, sometimes comprised of material that is hazardous to the environment, must be properly contained at the site and disposed of properly. Current methods of waste containment and disposal include the use of a large, preassembled construction debris container, such as a steel dumpster, to store dry debris. The debris is loaded into the large construction debris container at the construction site. To remove the debris, the container is loaded by crane or front loader to a truck that drives the container off the construction site. Unfortunately, this method of debris removal often requires driving heavy equipment over a curb or other surface that is fragile relative to the weight of the equipment. For example, to deliver a construction debris container or to retrieve debris from a container located behind or to the side of a house, a semi-tractor with flatbed trailer may have to drive through the front yard. This may involve driving over a curb, on a sidewalk, on a driveway strong enough only for passenger cars, over the yard that may have a sprinkler system laid, or over water control boxes. It would be desirable to have a debris removal system that does not risk damaging fragile surfaces or structures. It would be desirable to employ a more lightweight container that can be delivered in parts and assembled at the construction site so as to avoid delivery and removal by heavy machinery. 
         [0003]    Another common method is to prop four plywood sheets against each other to form a bottomless box. While convenient and relatively inexpensive, this has the disadvantage of allowing debris to contact the ground, where it may transfer undesirable materials to the ground, such as asbestos or caustic chemicals. Rain on the debris in the open box can exacerbate the transfer of such undesirable materials to the land. It would be desirable to contain the debris more efficiently. 
         [0004]    Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a container for construction debris that can be delivered, assembled, disassembled, and reused without the invasiveness of heavy machinery. It is a further object to provide a method of delivering a debris container, loading the debris container with construction debris, and removing the debris from a remote location such that heavy equipment does not have to drive on curbs, driveways, and other prohibited travel areas. It is another object of this invention to provide a container for construction debris that prevents contamination of the land at the construction site. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    This invention is a method and apparatus for containing and removing construction debris at a construction site. The apparatus comprises a base having low side walls and side boards mated therewith to form a construction debris container. The base is preferably molded plastic having collapsible side board stabilizers molded therein. The side boards are preferably conventional sheets of plywood. In the preferred embodiment, the base is delivered to a construction site and the side boards are disposed inside the side walls and secured together with a joiner to form a substantially rigid construction debris container. Once the container is filled with construction debris, the debris is removed from the container using relatively lightweight equipment such as a grapple. The construction debris container is then disassembled and removed from the construction site. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a flow chart of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  illustrates a partially-filled container and the preferred embodiment of equipment for removing the debris at a construction site. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2A  illustrates a partially-filled container and an alternative embodiment of equipment for removing the debris at a construction site. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a base of the container. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view a base of the container with stabilizing ridges. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a cross-section of the base of  FIG. 4  along line  5 - 5 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a cross-section of an alternate embodiment of the base. 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a perspective partial view of a second alternate embodiment of the base with stabilizing pegs. 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is a perspective partial view of a third alternate embodiment of the base with stabilizing pegs. 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a cap joiner. 
           [0016]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an L-shaped bracket joiner. 
           [0017]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a partially assembled container, 
           [0018]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of an assembled container, showing a cap joiner and an L-shaped bracket joiner. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is illustrated the inventive method for containing and removing construction debris, designated generally as  10 , which takes place at construction site  20 . The construction site  20  is the general area, such as a city block or parcel of land, wherein a construction, repair, rehabilitation, renovation, or other project requiring debris removal is taking place, and includes adjacent roads or channels of ingress and egress where construction equipment, such as delivery vehicles, may be located for utilization at the construction site. The project taking place at the construction site  20  may be characterized as residential, commercial, or industrial; in the preferred embodiment, the project is residential. 
         [0020]    The construction site  20  may comprise heavy travel areas, prohibited travel areas, or a combination of both. Heavy travel areas can withstand ingress, egress, and stationary location of heavy construction equipment, such as dump trucks and cranes, without damage to the travel surface or underlying structures. Common heavy travel areas include main or heavy-load-bearing roads, adjacent undeveloped land, and industrial parking lots. Prohibited travel areas are impassable by heavy construction equipment without sustaining damage. Common prohibited travel areas include side streets, driveways, sidewalks, and parking lots that may crack or crumble under excessive weight; street curbs or other embankments; hedgerows; fences; irrigation and wastewater ravines; and residential property which may contain special landscaping or irrigation systems or may collapse under heavy weight. In the preferred embodiment, illustrated in  FIG. 2 , construction site  20  is a residential construction site populated by examples of both heavy travel and prohibited travel areas: main road  25  is a heavy travel area, while residential side-street  24 , concrete embankment  23  or curb, driveway  22 , and yard  21  are prohibited travel areas. 
         [0021]    The container comprises generally a base  50  and one or more sideboards  60 . Following the inventive method  10 , a base  50  is delivered to the construction site  20 . The container  30  may be delivered assembled or unassembled, and the sideboards  60  may be delivered at the same time as the base or separately. The base  50  and sideboards  60  may each be composed of one or more materials suitable to contain construction debris, including steel or other metal, cardboard, plywood or other woods, woven, malleable, or rigid plastic, compacted rubber, or other polymers. The base  50  and sideboards  60  may be made of the same materials or different materials. Preferably the base  50  is made of a substantially waterproof, lightweight, durable, reusable, weather resistant plastic and the sideboards are common 4 ft.×8 ft. plywood sheets. Alternatively, the base  50  and sideboards  60  may be made of a disposable material, such as cardboard or plastic. 
         [0022]    The container  30  may be any size large enough to contain the construction debris generated by a construction project of a certain size. The container  30  may be shaped like a circle, square, rectangle, or any other shape conducive to containing construction debris, and is preferably about 8 ft×8 ft. square bounded by the plywood sheets. The container  30  may be substantially watertight to contain wastewater associated with the construction debris and rain that falls on the open box. Alternatively, depending on factors such as the local weather, cost, weight, and environmental regulations, the base  50  may be perforated or otherwise constructed to allow water to drain from the container  30 . 
         [0023]    The base  50  works in cooperation with the sidewalls  60  to contain the debris, which may be joined to each other in various ways to accomplish the containment. Referring to  FIGS. 3-12 , various examples of reinforcing the integrity of the assembled container are illustrated. The sideboard  60  is shown in dotted lines in  FIGS. 5-7 . In the preferred embodiment, the periphery of the base  50  has low sidewalls  51  to which the sideboards  60  are propped against. The sidewall  51  may be collapsible so that the base can be substantially flattened and easily stacked. To further stabilize the container, the base  50  may further comprise a ridge  52  that forms a trough  54  with the sidewall  51 , into which a sideboard  60  is inserted. See  FIG. 5 . Preferably the ridge  52  is molded into the base  50 . In an alternate embodiment, another ridge  52  is substituted for the sidewall  51 . See  FIG. 6 . For added stability, the bottom  55  may be extended past the ridges  52 . In a third embodiment, sideboard  60  is mated with the base  50  by inserting it between the sidewall  51  and a series of nodules or pegs  53  which are preferably molded in the base  50 . See  FIGS. 7 and 8 . Alternatively, the pegs  53  can be fit into holes in the base, for example by friction fit or threads. Other structures to keep the sideboards  60  substantially perpendicular to the base  50  will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
         [0024]    The walls of the container  30  are sideboards  60 . The sideboards  60  are secured to each other such that they may easily be assembled and disassembled repeatedly so that the container  30  can be delivered easily and reused. The sideboards  60  can be fastened to each other by any joiner, including a fastening plate, corner cap  70 , or L-shaped bracket  71 , as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , respectively. To assemble the container, in one embodiment the sideboards  60  are mated with the base  50  and a corner cap  70  is placed over each top-corner intersection of the walls. See  FIGS. 11 and 12 . In another embodiment, the sideboards  60  are mated with the base  50  and an L-shaped bracket  71  is placed around each top-corner intersection of the walls and secured there by a conventional wingnut  72  and bolt  73 . Combinations of joiners can be used, as shown in  FIG. 12 . 
         [0025]    The container  30  may be assembled before delivery to the construction site  20 , or may be delivered unassembled and assembled at a preferred location within the construction site  20 . In the preferred embodiment, the container  30  is delivered unassembled to facilitate its placement within the construction site  20  at a location conducive to efficiently performing the project. Because this location may be remote from and inaccessible by heavy machinery, the parts of container  30  can be transported by hand or by lightweight vehicles. Multiple containers  30  may be delivered to the construction site  20 . 
         [0026]    Once the container  30  is full or the construction project is completed, the construction debris is removed from the container  30  using a debris removal vehicle  40 . Preferably the debris removal vehicle  40  is a dump truck equipped with a grapple  41 . See  FIG. 2 . The debris removal vehicle  40  operator maneuvers the grapple into position over the container  30 , lowers the grapple over the construction debris, grabs the construction debris, removes it from the container  30  and places it in the bed of the dump truck for subsequent disposal at the appropriate facility, such as a recycling or waste facility. In large or multi-unit construction projects, where there may be multiple containers  30 , the debris removal vehicle  40  will empty one container, move to a second container  30  and empty it, move to a third container  30  and empty it, etc., until all the containers  30  are empty. The removal vehicle  40  is prohibited from passing over any prohibited travel areas (such as yard  21 , driveway  22 , concrete embankment  23 , and side street  24 ), so the removal vehicle  40  advantageously remains on a heavy travel area or other non-prohibited travel area, such as main road  25 . 
         [0027]    In an alternate embodiment, the debris removal vehicle  40  is a debris transferor  43  equipped with a grapple  41 , used in cooperation with a debris remover  42 . The debris transferor may be a Bobcat or a front loader, for example; the debris remover may be a dump truck or flatbed.  FIG. 2A  shows an alternate embodiment in which the debris removal vehicle  40  is a Bobcat  43  equipped with a grapple  41  cooperating with a dump truck  42 . As in the preferred embodiment, the heavy part of the removal vehicle  40 , in the alternate embodiment the dump truck or flatbed, does not travel on prohibited areas. 
         [0028]    When the containers are no longer needed, each container  30  is disassembled and the component parts, namely the base  50 , sideboards  60 , and joiners, are removed from the site. The components are preferably retained for future use, but may be disposed of or recycled. In another embodiment, the entire container  30  is removed from the construction site, emptied, and returned to the site if necessary. The container  30 , if too heavy to be transported on the ground over any prohibited travel areas, is removed from the construction site  20  by crane or over a temporary bridge that will not damage the prohibited travel areas. The container  30  may be taken to a waste facility, emptied and reused. 
         [0029]    While there has been illustrated and described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that this invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.