Everything is going ‘green’ these days, and that even includes the demolition of buildings.

Robert Moore Drainage and Excavating of Blue Earth is recycling some of the materials from razing three buildings on North Main Street in Blue Earth.

Crew members sifted through the rubble Tuesday afternoon, searching for anything that can be recycled.

“Any building you are going to take down you look at saving on landfill costs. That involves recycling,” says Jeff Moore.

City Administrator Kathy Bailey says the bid to take down the ‘Kramer Building’ was $16,800.

She says the cost was lower than expected because asbestos was not found and those doing the work wanted to keep some of the wood, brick and concrete.

Earlier estimates put the cost of tearing down the buildings at around $50,000.

“I think that’s kind of neat. Instead of just tearing down the building and hauling the debris to a landfill, some of it is going to be reused,” Bailey says. “It also was a way at keeping his costs down.”

Moore estimates between 20 and 30 percent of the waste will be hauled to a landfill.

The brick and concrete will be ground down and used for base work on highways and roads, Moore says.

“We’ll use it for some of the roadwork we do,” he adds.

Moore says some of the good lumber is sold to companies that use it to build cabins, to give it a ‘rustic look.’

Any iron or scrap metal also will be recycled.

Bailey says there are no immediate plans for the lot, but city officials hope someone will be interested in locating a business there.