State of C&D Recycling Depends on the State

In an effort to reduce construction and demolition debris landfilling, one California organization has implemented a number of programs to publicize the positive aspects of C&D materials recycling and to increase awareness and participation in the programs.

The activities taking place in California are aimed at a target that has also been set up in several other states: reducing the amount of C&D materials that are landfilled, thus increasing the state’s overall landfill diversion rate.

Producers of C&D debris in the Sacramento area have a strong incentive to recycle, says Caren Trgovcich, deputy director for waste prevention and market development for the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB). "It takes up a lot of space in the landfill," she says, referring to C&D debris. "The goal for the year 2000 mandate is to divert 50% of waste from landfills. [Diverting] C&D debris can contribute significantly to that goal."

The cost of landfilling C&D debris is significant because of the weight of the material. "It just makes sense from a business perspective," Trgovcich says. "You can actually reuse a lot of the materials on site. You are not only avoiding the disposal costs and the costs of virgin material, but the transport of any new material."

By at least one measure, the efforts to increase the recycling of C&D debris have paid off for the CIWMB, Sacramento, Calif. In 1990, there were 174 programs in California to divert wood waste from landfills. That number grew to 293 in 1995. Concrete, asphalt and rubble diversion programs also grew, from 210 in 1990 to 365 programs in 1995. (More recent figures were not available from the agency.)

In much of California, low landfill tipping fees—about $25 per ton—are available. The state is seeking ways to raise the C&D recycling rate even though it is relatively inexpensive to dispose of debris in landfills.

The material that has the most room for an improved recycling rate is mixed demolition waste, consisting largely of drywall and wood, Trgovcich says. Recycling rates for other materials continue to improve, but one undeniable roadblock to successful recycling programs is lack of markets for some materials. "Labor costs to deconstruct and process materials are very high and market values for most of the processed materials are very low, thus few entrepreneurs are willing to start a new business to market materials with a questionable or marginal return," she says.

Part of the current effort to make C&D recycling programs more effective includes concentrating directly on the construction industry and their job practices, says Trgovcich, as well as focusing on demolition and new construction projects. Reducing the amount of waste generated at new construction sites and evaluating current job practices can also help reduce waste, the CIWMB believes.

"We want local governments to recognize that by spending a little more money up front to separate at the time of deconstruction they add to the available feed stock and can use it back at the new construction site," she says.

California is also in the process of reworking a tiered regulation system as a way to classify and regulate C&D operations, says Bob Holmes, regulations coordinator for the permitting and enforcement division, CIWMB. "Prior to the creation of the tiered regulations, we had a one size fits all permit and it wasn’t working too well. It worked for larger sites but not for the smaller."

The tiered regulation system is "designed to have a level of regulatory oversight by the regulatory agency, whether our board directly or a local enforcement agency." The level of classification depends partly on the overall risk at the facility. All facilities must comply with minimum state operating standards.

The four levels of regulation include:

• Full permit: The highest level of regulatory oversight. A permit is issued by the Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) after Board concurrence and a 150 day permit processing timeline

• Standardized Registration: A tier in which the permit is standardized for all facilities in that tier. Permit processing timeline: 75 days

• Registration: A permit is issued by the LEA and board concurrence is not required. Permit processing timeline: 30 days

• Enforcement Agency Notification: No formal permit is issued, but the facility must notify the agency that they are operating

• Excluded: The agency is within the boards jurisdiction but they are either too small or the material handled does not pose a risk. Not subject to permitting requirements or operating standards

The variety of programs offered by the CIWMB is just one of many across the nation that are aimed at reducing waste produced from C&D projects and creating alternative outlets and uses for the materials generated. But these programs are often up against the stiff competition of low landfill tipping fees, the recovery of materials containing hazardous waste and the illegal dumping of materials.

Lumber, window frames, mantles and even intact doors were entering landfills in Ithaca, N.Y., in increasing amounts while at the same time people were seeking the same items out for renovation projects of historic homes and buildings.

In an effort to reduce landfill waste and provide an outlet for materials that could be reused, Tompkins Solid Waste Management Division has partnered with Historic Ithaca Inc. to create what Lynn Leopold calls a "win-win situation" for both organizations. The joint project, scheduled to begin next summer, will provide a drop-off site for C&D materials that can be reused where they will be cleaned and sold at a reduced cost to consumers.

C&D recycling advocates are looking for alternative methods of disposing of C&D waste in order to reach government recycling goals and to avoid landfilling material that could be reused. For Leopold, recycling specialist for the Tompkins County Solid Waste Management Division, the planned program is just such an alternative. The partnering for the project allows the county to recycle materials and also helps Historic Ithaca expand the already existing architectural recycling program to a grander scale. "We got the idea that since we are a transfer facility for materials, we could partner and help them [Historic Ithaca] expand what they do and help us divert waste, which we are required to do," Leopold says.

Contractors, along with the general public, will be able to bring materials to the transfer facility for a tipping fee, where the materials will be sorted. Lower tipping fees may be offered for materials that arrive pre-sorted. Once the materials are sorted they will then be resold at about 60% of retail cost. "If the project really takes off, a tipping fee could be avoided and a tax write-off may be offered instead," she says.

Items that are in strong demand for preservation projects in the area include wood doors and windows, which Leopold says she has often seen enter area landfills. "We hope to divert a good sum of materials in a year’s time, but that will remain to be seen," she says.

One problem that the organizations face, along with many C&D recyclers across the nation, is the disposal or recycling of materials containing lead-based paint. If a proposed EPA regulation takes effect, items such as doors and windows that contain lead-based paint could not be recycled because the lead, even after the product has been recycled, could still be harmful to small children. This stipulation severely limits materials that can be recovered and recycled because the cost of removing lead-based paint becomes too expensive for many C&D recyclers.

Lead-based paint is a significant issue facing the industry, says John Blaisdell, recycling market development specialist for the North Carolina Business Assistance Center, Raleigh, N.C. "That is the single biggest restraint from furthering recycling in the C&D industry, because otherwise you would have a very nice boiler product or road-based substitute," he says of different C&D materials. "You would really open up the markets completely if you didn’t have the lead."

Michael Taylor, executive director of National Association of Demolition Contractors, Doylestown, Pa., agrees that lead-based paint regulations could have an impact on the C&D industry. "It will certainly have some impact on how the demolition industry handles waste," he says, "and will have some impact on the recycling end of business also."

Changes in regulations dealing with the disposal of fluorescent lights containing mercury could affect the industry as well. "Some states recycle aggressively," Taylor says, "such as Wisconsin. We think it will be something that will be manageable."

Yet one more strike against C&D recyclers is low tipping fees at landfills in North Carolina, as well as the rest of the nation, says Blaisdell. Lower tipping fees mean more incentive to take the less expensive route and landfill materials instead.

North Carolina has been studying the waste stream, he says, "but there is no recycling capacity in the Raleigh, N.C., area and currently there is one landfill about to stop taking material and it’s about to close," Blaisdell says. "There is opportunity, but markets are so slim it’s sketchy."

In Texas, an onset of illegal dumping of C&D debris has occurred despite low landfill tipping fees in some areas of the state, says Woody Raine, clean cities coordinator for the Texas Resource Conservation Commission. "(C&D debris) can be disposed of rather inexpensively," he says, "but we have a problem with the illegal dumping of C&D debris in some areas. Even though it may be cheap to dispose [of], opportunities for disposal may be a distance away."

When there are no recycling or disposal facilities within a reasonable distance, illegal dumping of C&D debris becomes the choice disposal method for some people.

C&D debris is the third largest component of the waste stream in Texas, making up about 17% or 18% of the waste stream, says Joey Crumley, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. "On a per capita rate, it seems to be pretty steady. I think it is reflective of the population and the economic growth of the state. We were ranked number two on population and third in gross state product," he says.

The City of Portland, Ore., made the recycling of C&D debris a requirement for construction projects when a regulation was enacted Jan. 1, 1996, requiring that any construction project with a permit value of more than $50,000 must separate and recycle certain materials from the job site.

Under the Metro Construction Site Recycling program, materials that must be recycled include land-clearing green waste, rubble (including concrete and asphalt), wood, metals and corrugated cardboard. At the job site, recycling bins must be set up to keep any garbage separate from the recy-clables. Failure to follow the regulation could result in a $500 fine, according to a spokesperson at Port-land’s Bureau of Environmental Services.

In Florida, a clear distinction between what is a C&D recycling facility and what is a transfer station is causing confusion says Steve Levetan of Resource Services and an ISRI legislative affairs director based in Atlanta. "Sham recycling" is a heated issue in Florida, "because there is not clear distinction between a facility that is really a transfer station that may pick out a few pieces of scrap and haul the rest to a landfill," he says, "versus a facility that is a legitimate facility that is recovering materials and recycling."

A task force of waste haulers, local governments, C&D haulers and the scrap recycling industry have been meeting to find a solution to the problem. "I think all of us want to make sure legitimate C&D recycling is allowed and certainly encouraged," he says. "And while at the same time preventing people from claiming that they are recycling and really doing something else."

The author is the assistant editor of C&D Recycler.