The good news: California leads the nation in waste reduction and recycling!
Even so, our state disposes of more than 40 million tons of waste annually.
Years ago California enacted Public Resources Code Sections 41780 – 41786 requiring each city and county to implement and enforce waste reduction and recycling programs designed to meet certain recycling goals.
Currently, the requirement is to divert 50% of solid waste through recycling and composting.
Similar to mandated Storm Water Management Programs, cities and counties are subject to fines of up to $10,000. per day for failure to meet State law requirements. An amendment to the Code this past summer requires 60% diversion by 2015, and 75% diversion by 2020.
In the past year many cities and counties have implemented strict new regulations requiring permits and proof of the percentage recycled on construction and demolition projects of all sizes.
You may be wondering: Can we save waste disposal expense by recycling? Will this really help the environment? What’s the overall affect on my construction project? Answers: Not really, Certainly, and Substantial.
In response to the regulations and requirements, waste management and recycling facilities actually separate the waste and now provide receipts evidencing the percentage recycled. This requires trucking the roll-offs to the nearest facility with this capability. Obviously there is substantial labor involved and there is no credit given for the value of the recyclables. At this time, the tipping charges (per ton charges for disposal) are the same as if taken to a landfill.
On the plus side, professional management of all recyclables will substantially reduce the waste deposited in landfills with significant benefit to the environment.
As far as the affect on future projects is concerned, the primary impact known at this time is the additional administrative expense of regulatory compliance for developers and contractors.
Developers will typically be required to submit a waste management plan (consisting generally of estimates of various types of waste and recyclables), obtain a permit, and post a deposit as a performance guarantee.
Deposits are based on the size of the project. As an example, the City of San Diego charges $.40 per square foot for new, attached residential construction with a maximum deposit of $40,000.
The contractor is required to keep a daily log of all material leaving the site, maintain receipts evidencing recycling by weight and percentage, and provide the logs, receipts, and final report (some jurisdictions require quarterly reporting) to the developer. The developer will submit evidence to the jurisdiction for release of its deposit.
Fortunately, construction waste consists of a high percentage of recyclables. Meeting the minimum requirements established by the State through 2019 should not be a problem provided the contractor is knowledgeable and complies with the requirements of the local jurisdiction.
However, individual jurisdictions may enact local ordinances more stringent than the State requirements. Many local jurisdictions are now in the process of developing their regulations and ordinances and we can expect significant differences from one to the next.
Sun Country Builders has been researching California jurisdictions and will be following this closely as regulations evolve and cities and counties determine how best to comply.
