The former Sink Paper Co. building at 100 Fifth Ave., Des Moines, was demolished last Friday, and crews continue to sort and haul away the wreckage this week.

“Our company has filled lots of landfills over the years,” said Dan DeCarlo, president of DeCarlo Demolition Co., who took a new approach to dealing with demolition and construction waste when he purchased the company from his grandfather in 2000.

Now the third-generation demolition contractor recycles as much as it possibly can, he said.

The mangled pieces of brick, wood and concrete are being sorted and taken to area recyclers – Phoenix C & D Recycling and West Des Moines-based Corell Contractor Inc. – DeCarlo said, adding that workers removed five tons of paper from the building before razing it.

The clean concrete can be used for road base and pipe bedding, the wood material is ground up to make fuel pellets and the brick, DeCarlo said, has historically been crushed and used to fill in low-lying areas.

Sue Elliott, a project manager with the Polk County Board of Supervisors, said mold, asbestos and a collapsing ceiling created hazardous conditions in the building, which was constructed in 1904. She said there are no immediate plans for the site.

Joe Aiello, Polk County building and grounds superintendent, said the building was being used to store Polk County property.

“There are a couple of options” for the site, Aiello said, including parking for state and/or county employees, or public parking. A new building has yet to be ruled out; he said the decision will be made by the supervisors.

The property had been the proposed site for a planned expansion of the Polk County Courthouse, but the project was voted down by taxpayers in April.