C&D News

Nashville County Council Mulls C&D Recycling Measures

The Nashville, Tenn., Metropolitan County Council is considering whether to pass three bills that are geared toward improvement the environment for recycling of construction and demolition (C&D) material.

The three bills were originally introduced in early February and target the processing of C&D material. They address amending the restriction in the zoning code pertaining to recycling facilities and creating a new land use for C&D processing as a use permitted with conditions (PC) in all zoning districts.

Sponsors of the bills, BL2010-634, BL2010-635 and BL2010-637, say they feel the bills’ passage would make it easier to recycle C&D debris in the city.

The present zoning code allows recycling facilities as a PC use only in the industrial districts of the county. A recycling facility is defined in the zoning code as any facility that separates, processes, converts, treats or otherwise prepares non-putrescible material for recycling. Such facilities are required to meet certain conditions to operate as a recycling facility, including a minimum lot size of 1 acre; a building setback of at least 150 feet from a residential zoning district or legally occupied residential structure; opaque fencing of at least 8 feet in height is required along all zoning districts permitting residential uses, while facilities not adjacent to zoning districts permitting residential uses must be enclosed by an 8-foot tall chain link fence; and the requirement that the recycling operations take place entirely within an enclosed structure, which has acted as a barrier to the opening of these facilities.

However, BL2010-634 would allow C&D facilities to do on-site recycling as an accessory use. This recycling activity also would be allowed outside.

Ordinance BL2010-635 adds C&D debris processing (project specific) as a use permitted with conditions in all zoning districts. This would allow property owners who are constructing or demolishing a structure to engage in recycling on site or off site as long as the off-site location is within one-quarter mile of the project site.  Project specific C&D debris processing sites could only recycle material generated from the project property.

All applicants for a project-specific C&D material processing use would be required to submit a detailed “waste reduction and recycling plan” to the director of public works and the director of codes administration. The plan must identify a waste manager with around-the-clock contact information, the type and quantity of materials to be recycled, the frequency of collection and the method of storage.

A property would be considered inactive if no construction or demolition activity has taken place on the property within six months. No material processing activities could occur if a site is declared inactive until a new application is approved.

Ordinance BL2010-637 would delete the requirement in the Zoning Code that the compacting, sorting, processing or storage of materials at recycling facilities take place entirely within an enclosed building.

The codes department recommends that this ordinance be amended to require recycling activity to continue to take place within an enclosed facility if it is located within 1,000 feet of certain residentially zoned districts.

These three ordinances have been approved by the planning commission. At press time, a final vote on the three bills was expected to be made at the Nashville County Council meeting April 6.

Advanced Disposal Services Completes Acquisition of Excel Waste

Advanced Disposal Services Inc. (ADS), a Jacksonville, Fla.-based waste management firm, has acquired Excel Waste, a Nashville, Tenn., firm. The deal is expected to strengthen ADS’ waste management business in Tennessee, especially in C&D recycling.

Excel, which will go under the name of Advance Disposal Services, has a C&D processing operation in Nashville. Gerald Greene, ADS Mid-South area president, says the C&D operation will allow builders in the area to meet LEED certification. The facility is capable of handling concrete, old corrugated containers, brick and other C&D materials. Greene says the company also will start to handle sheetrock from the Nashville area in the near future.

This is the second acquisition this year for ADS in Greater Nashville.

“With the acquisition of this C&D recycling facility, we will give our commercial customers the ability to bid on LEED- (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-) certified projects because they know that they have a waste and recycling partner in Advanced Disposal helping them reach their goals of waste reduction and sustainability throughout their business,” Greene notes.

ADS operates in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and North Carolina.

Turner Construction Lands Contract to Renovate Federal Building

Turner Construction Co., based in New York City, has been awarded a $73 million contract by the General Services Administration to provide general contracting services to renovate the Federal Office Building 8 in Washington, D.C.

Upon completion in October 2012, the project will seek a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The work includes a green renovation of the 547,000-square-foot building and reduction in the use of natural resources. The renovation will add natural light, employ the use of energy- and water-efficient fixtures and low-VOC (volatile organic compound) materials. The renovation will feature the addition of two atriums, glass curtain walls on each end of the building and projected window bays on the north and south facades. Turner will also recycle and reuse construction and demolition material on this project.