C&D News

The Mendocino County (California) Board of Supervisors is considering a recycling plan that would force construction and demolition companies doing business in the unincorporated parts of the county to recycle at least half of all recyclable materials, according to a report in the Ukiah Daily Journal (Ukiah, Calif.).

The Construction and Demolition Recycling and Reuse Ordinance, first brought before the board in December 2005 and subsequently sent out for review by interested parties, seeks, in part, to help Mendocino County reach a state mandated 50-percent diversion rate for solid waste.

Currently, Mendocino County has a 48 percent rate, which has risen substantially since being measured at 36 percent in 2003 in light of expansion of recycling programs, according to the report. The California Integrated Waste Management Board, however, has recommended that a C&D recycling ordinance be prepared to finally meet the goal.

The ordinance will apply only to demolition projects greater than or equal to 1,000 square feet in size and construction projects equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet.

The plan would require demolition sites to recycle 50 percent of tonnage including concrete and asphalt and 15 percent of tonnage not including concrete and asphalt. In re-roofing projects, 50 percent of wood, slate and stone, and 50 percent of asphalt shingles would need to be recycled as long as there was a recycling option available. For construction and remodeling projects, 50 percent of all recyclable materials would need to be properly handled.

Construction and demolition companies would be required to submit a Recycling and Reuse Plan—a one-page document detailing the method to be used for recycling and for disposal of non-recyclable materials—before a demolition or construction permit was issued. Also, the county would collect a 35-cent-per-square-foot deposit that would be returned in full within 60 days of project completion if the company submitted evidence showing the minimum recycling requirement was met. If it was not, only a portion of the deposit will be returned.

Companies failing to comply with the mandate would potentially be subject to fees and public nuisance charges, according to the report.