“What’s allowed to disposed of — the materials management — we want to use the science and the data to properly regulate it,” Brinchek said. “We are the receivers of the material, not the generators.”
Source: Your discarded carpet is poisoning the Earth with PFAS | NC Policy Watch
HildaWeges | Adobe Stock
Frankly, the design industry just isn’t thinking about what will happen at the end of material life. And if the design industry isn’t thinking about it, and isn’t asking manufacturers to create products that cater to these needs, the result is a vast disconnect between how and what we are putting into our buildings and the ability to reuse or recycle these items at the end of their initial lives.
Source: The importance of materials recovery coordination in construction & demolition – Waste Today
New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust general manager, Francesca Lipscombe, says the new ecolabel could be a game changer for the construction industry. She is pictured at the Waitakere Refuse and Recycling Centre with Auckland Council manager of waste solutions Parul Sood.
The Environmental Choice label would differentiate C&D service providers from each other by their environmental impact and mark those who were top providers and demonstrated best practice around waste minimisation and reduction.
Between 30% and 35% of the total amount of generated waste in most developed countries is attributed to building sector activities such as building construction, renovation, and demolition processes, according to the official EU statistical data. In many countries on our list, the construction industry is often the largest culprit, generating more than 90% of the total waste produced in a country.
Source: These Are the World’s Biggest Producers of Waste – 24/7 Wall St.
Berkeley County Water and Sanitation workers continued to cover mounds of waste with dirt on Thursday, January 10, 2019, to control any odor coming from the Berkeley County landfill on Highway 52. Brad Nettles/Staff. Brad Nettles bnettles@postandcourier.com
It turns out that the problem began when construction and demolition debris was diverted from the landfill where those materials normally are buried and instead were put into the municipal solid waste landfill…
…C&D debris can include drywall, which contains gypsum, a substance that can produce hydrogen sulfide gas when exposed to water or moisture under anaerobic conditions within municipal solid waste.
Source: Berkeley landfill mystery odor finally solved | Editorials | postandcourier.com
According to the study, “reduce, reuse and recycle” policies are necessary to control the amount of construction waste, but insufficient resources, lack of standardization, slim profit margins, policy apathy and lack of education on the issues are keeping that from happening. The Asia Pacific region is expected to generate a majority of the construction waste in the year to come, followed by North America. Europe, according to the report, has developed the best construction waste management technologies.
Source: Report: Global construction waste will almost double by 2025 | Waste Dive
Henderson said getting people to recycle more isn’t the issue. About three-quarters of all waste from construction and demolition are already being recycled. Rather, it’s the capacity limitations of the region’s 12 recycling facilities that’s now emerging as a concern.
Source: Construction waste overwhelms Metro Vancouver | Vancouver 24 hrs
Craig Moore of the Ontario Association of Demolition Contractors OADC says for their part, materials sent to landfill are missed opportunities to cash in since jobs are bid with scrap in mind and both contractors and owners are well aware of the value of metals and other high demand materials.
via Daily Commercial News – Ontario struggles to divert construction waste.
The primary way this occurred, according to attorney David Anton, involved misclassifying demolition and construction waste. Under state law, ground up raw construction material that is labeled as “fines” can legally be used to cover up the top of a landfill – in order to prevent pests, fires, and odors, for example. When construction waste is ground up and used this way, it counts as “alternative daily cover” – like a layer of frosting on a giant cake of garbage – and strangely enough, the state allows waste disposal companies to count that frosting as “diverted waste” even though it’s actually part of the landfill.
The lawsuit claimed that Recology tried to count a great many tons of its construction and demolition waste as “fines” when in reality it should have been labeled just plain garbage, because the tons of stuff that they were shipping to the Solano County landfill wasn’t being processed to a fine enough grade to comply with state requirements for what constitutes “fines.”
via Jury finds Recology cheated in waste diversion bonus program | SF Politics.
Mr Davies told letsrecycle.com: “This is part of a much wider cross governmental approach not only with waste but a much wider economic focus on how we use resources. The fundamental ambition we wish to give is to create the conditions for a circular economy in Wales. We not only want to develop the size of our waste ambitions but also we say that waste is a resource that can be used again and again.
“We do not want a disposable economy in Wales. Historically we have always taken great care of our possessions and I think that it is the basis of a virtuous circular economy.”
The tool could be used for planning operations and closures, determining economic and technical feasibility and responsible every day management. The author of the project, Spanish Master’s Degree student Joan Esteban Altabella from the University of Jaume, has received the prize for the best paper presented at the 17th International Congress on Project Management and Engineering.
By finding additional purpose for the otherwise useless demolition and construction waste, the tool reduces the environmental impact caused by quarrying. The landfill operators can also achieve substantial cost reductions, if they employ the construction waste instead of landfill aggregate purchased from a quarry.
via Waste-handling improvements promised by new software tool – E & T Magazine.
This article baffles me. It could be that it’s Monday morning, it could be that its post Thanksgiving Monday. But I can’t figure out if the studios are already reusing C&D or not.
Anyone want to help me get the gist of this? Would be appreciated.
Concerned about how it might impact their current operations, officials from the Motion Picture Association of America and Fox Studios spoke out against the plan in Los Angeles to designate a specific commercial hauler for regions of the city.
Gretchen Lewotsky, vice president of state and local government affairs for Fox Entertainment Group, said it has tried to be a good corporate citizen and community member through the years, including implementing various sustainable efforts in recent years.
“Our commitment has been rigorous programs to achieve the level of sustainability that is second to none,” Lewotsky told the City Council. “Our diversion rate at the studios is currently at 87% and we’re aiming to increase that to 90%.”
Melissa Patack, vice president of governmental affairs for Motion Picture Association of America, said the various studios have extraordinary diversion rates.
“We ask your support to add to the instructions to the city attorney that the specific operational records of the studios need to be considered and addressed as the waste sheds are created,” she said.
Several City Council members said the needs of the studios should be addressed. Andrea Alarcon, president of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works, said most of the waste from the studios would be excluded from the specific franchise requirements.
C&D debris is being excluded from the system.
“By virtue of what they do, they build up sets and break them down, it’s construction and demolition. Under our proposal, it would be exempt,” Alarcon said.
However, regular waste would still be included.
“Unique service requirements will definitely be built into the RFP, including [the need for] specialized vehicles to move around lots, 24-hour service and prompt service response times,” she said.
via Movie industry opposes Los Angeles collection plan -Solid Waste – Waste & Recycling News.
