Planning for the Future
About 30% of all the waste created in Summit County comes from C&D jobsites. To address this concern, HC3 and Summit County Government hired VERTsites to create a 5-year plan for managing C&D waste in the community.
The plan noted four key goals:
Goal 1
Develop local infrastructure and programs to increase C&D diversion
Goal 2
Improve tracking of C&D waste and recycling to establish an accurate baseline
Goal 4
Create local material diversion ordinances to recover C&D debris
C&D Recycling in Summit County
As part of the plan’s second goal, HC3 and VERTsites conducted a pilot project across four jobsites to better understand challenges and opportunities for recycling C&D waste. Here’s what we found:
- Challenges: Jobsites lack space, additional labor and resources were needed for successful diversion, and some materials (like drywall) are not recyclable.
- Successes: All 4 sites successfully diverted waste, contractors were engaged in the project, and all reported that diversion plans were helpful.
Based on those learnings, VERTsites recommended the following: Create a disposal policy for locally-divertible materials; Conduct a C&D waste composition study; Offer contractor training and education; and Utilize diversion plans in C&D recycling programs.
C&D Recycling Across Colorado
In addition to requiring a diversion plan, the City of Boulder uses refundable deposits to ensure that projects reach a minimum recycling rate for deconstruction. For new construction, recycling of specific materials is required. Learn More.
For new construction and demolition projects over a certain size, Fort Collins requires recycling of specific materials. Learn More.
In Pitkin County, contractors pay a refundable deposit based on the waste their project is expected to generate. All waste is tracked through an online system and deposits are refunded based on the materials and total amount recycled. Learn More.