Demolition crews are working at the University of Rochester's Strong Memorial Hospital to make room for a new emergency department to be built.

The expansion will triple the department's size, allowing the hospital to serve more people.

In this project, very little is going to waste, according to the hospital.

Officials say almost 90% of the material taken down so far, or 301 tons, will be recycled.

Crews have been working to not disrupt the current operations of the hospital.

"It’s one thing to put up a building, it’s a whole other one to take a building down,” project coordinator Robert Maloney said. “That is attached to an operating medical center. And it’s very complicated and detail-oriented. We’re trying to do the right thing here."

Those involved in the project say it is the largest they've been involved in.

Strong Hospital's emergency department serves more than 100,000 people each year.