Construction Waste Management: An Overview

Construction Waste Management: An Overview

The general application of a construction waste management plan is to attenuate the number of materials getting to landfills during construction by diverting the development of waste and demolition and land clearing debris from landfill disposal. It also helps redirect recyclable recovered resources back to the manufacturing process and redirect reusable materials to appropriate sites. From the outset, project waste should be recognized as an integral part of overall materials management.

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Any plan should require regular submittals tracking progress. The plan should also show how the specified recycling rate is to be achieved, including materials to be recycled or salvaged, cost estimates comparing recycling to disposal fees, materials-handling requirements, and the way the plan is going to be communicated to the crew and subcontractors. The premise is that waste management may be a part of materials management, and therefore the recognition that one project’s waste is material available for additional projects results in an efficient and effective waste management process.

To achieve success waste management requirements should be spelled out early within the design process and be the subject of dialogue at both preconstruction and ongoing regular job meetings, to make sure that contractors and subcontractors are fully informed of the implications of those requirements on their work before and throughout the development process.

Commercial construction typically generates between 2 pounds and a couple of .5 pounds of solid waste per sq ft – the bulk of which is recyclable. Salvaging and recycling construction and demolition waste can substantially reduce demand for virgin resources and therefore the associated environmental impacts. Additionally, effective construction waste management, including appropriate handling of nonrecyclables, can reduce contamination from and extend the lifetime of existing landfills. Whenever feasible, therefore, reducing initial waste generation is environmentally preferable to reuse or recycling.

The Construction Waste Management Plan should recognize project waste as an integral part of overall materials management. The premise being that waste management may be a part of materials management, and therefore the recognition that one project’s wastes are materials available for an additional project facilitates efficient and effective waste management. Moreover, waste management requirements should be included as a subject of dialogue during both the preconstruction phase and at ongoing regular job meetings, to make sure that contractors and appropriate subcontractors are fully conscious of the implications of those requirements on their work before and throughout construction.

Waste management should be coordinated with or a part of a typical quality assurance program, and waste management requirements should be addressed regularly throughout the project. All topical applications of processed clean wood waste and ground plasterboard as a soil amendment must be implemented in accordance with local and state regulations. When possible, adherence to the plan would be facilitated by tying completion of recycling documentation to at least one of the payments for every trade contractor.

The broad intent of the development Waste Management credit is to avoid materials getting to landfills during construction by diverting the development waste, demolition, and land-clearing debris from landfill disposal; redirect recyclable recovered resources back to the manufacturing process, and redirect reusable materials to appropriate sites.

LEED requirement: Recycle and/or salvage a minimum of 50–75% of nonhazardous C&D and packaging debris. Develop and implement a construction waste management plan that, at a minimum, identifies and quantifies the materials generated during construction which is to be recycled or that are to be diverted from disposal and whether such materials are going to be sorted on-site or comingled.

Typical items would come with brick debris, concrete, steel, ductwork, clean dimensional wood, paperboard, and plastic utilized in packing, etc. (Figure 6.10b). Excavated soil and land-clearing debris don’t contribute to the present credit. Calculations are often done by weight or by volume but must be consistent throughout.

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