Construction and Demolition Waste Management at UVM

Construction and Demolition Waste Opportunities

• Construction and demolition waste is 20-40% of the waste stream going to landfills nationally

• C+D waste is being generated at UVM everyday; we estimate there are nearly one hundred active projects on campus on any given day.

Environmental Impacts

• Landfill leaks

• Methane gas generation

• Energy lost by not recycling / re-claiming materials

• Transportation: greenhouse gas emissions

Definition of C&D Waste

“Waste material that is produced in the process of construction, renovation, or demolition of structures. Structures include buildings of all types (both residential and non-residential) as well as roads and bridges. Components of C&D debris typically include concrete, asphalt, wood, metals, gypsum wallboard and roofing”.

-EPA

Key Terms

• Construction waste- waste generated while constructing a new building or structure

• Demolition waste- waste generated while taking down an existing building or structure

• Deconstruction- the taking apart of an existing building so that materials can be re-used elsewhere

Typical C&D Wastes

• Asphalt, Asphalt Shingles

• Carpet

• Carpet padding

• Clean wood/pallets

• Concrete

• Corrugated cardboard

Typical C&D Wastes

• Gypsum (drywall)

• Land clearing debris

• Scrap metal

• Salvage

• Other…

Requirements at UVM

• Major projects: new buildings, major renovations

• Minor projects: short term or partial building projects

• Ongoing renovations: Physical Plant routine maintenance and renovation

Requirements at UVM

• The waste management plan will be based on LEED® guidelines for C+D waste management

• The plan must divert at least 50% of waste generated from the project

• Workers must view training presentation as part of job site orientation

C&D EMS

• Focuses on continuous program improvement by organizing activities into four stages:– Plan

– Do

– Check

– Act

• Program documentation is to maintain program improvements over time

• This approach is based on organizational quality improvement practices

C&D EMS

• Plan: vendor identification, development of job specifications

• Do: walkthrough checklist, collection of disposal tickets

• Check: entering of disposal data into the system, meeting of LEED goals

• Act: evaluation of program by project managers, analysis of financial impacts

C&D EMS

• Plan: tri-annual review of vendor options and specifications

• Do: implement the project tracking system for all major projects and move the size of the projects covered smaller and smaller

• Check: assure C&D waste LEED points are achived for every project (50% recycled for 1 point; 75% for 2 points) plus innovation point

• Act: financial break even compared to landfilling the entire job

LEED Requirements

• The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

• It gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance, by promoting a whole-building approach to sustainability.

LEED Requirements

• LEED certification is required for large projects at UVM – According to the 2007 “Environmental Design in New and Renovated Buildings”

Policy, UVM projects must achieve 33/69 points to achieve the required ‘Silver’ rating.

• In the LEED-NC 2.2 Rating system, there are 2 points available for Construction and Demolition waste diverted from the landfill:– 1 point if 50% of waste is diverted

– 2 points if 75% of waste is diverted

• The UVM tracking tool collects and reports the information that must be submitted to receive these points.

LEED Criteria

• MR Credit 2.1: Construction Waste Management: Divert 50% From Disposal: 1 Point – Recycle and/or salvage at least 50% of non-hazardous construction and

demolition debris. – Develop and implement a construction waste management plan that, at a

minimum, identifies the materials to be diverted from disposal and whether the materials will be sorted on-site or co- mingled. Excavated soil and land-clearing debris do not contribute to this credit. Calculations can be done by weight or volume, but must be consistent throughout.

• MR Credit 2.2: Divert 75% From Disposal: – 1 Point in addition to MR Credit 2.1 – Recycle and/or salvage an additional 25% beyond MR Credit 2.1

• Additional points for using salvaged and/or recycled content building materials

Demolition/Deconstruction and New Construction Required Elements

• Collection containers must be on site and labeled clearly before demolition can begin

• Waste must be separated into appropriate categories

• Labeled bins will remain on site for waste generated in new construction

• All waste shipped off-site must be tracked in C&D database

Online Tracking Tool Website

• The Green Building Coordinator Homepage:– http://www.uvm.edu/~gbc/

• The Online Tracking Tool Data Entry Page:– http://www.uvm.edu/~gbc/cdw/?Page=projects.php