Construction and Demolition Materials Diversion
What is the Construction and Demolition Ordinance?
The Construction and Demolition (C&D) ordinance requires all applicable construction, renovation and demolition projects to divert at least 50% of C&D waste from the landfill through recycling, reuse and/or waste reduction. C&D waste material include metal, glass, brick, concrete, asphalt, pipe, gypsum, wallboard, lumber, rocks, soil, trees etc.
Does my project fall under the ordinance?
All construction, renovation, and demolition projects requiring a building permit fall under the C&D ordinance with the following exceptions:
- Residential additions of less than 1,000 square feet of gross floor area;
- Tenant improvements involving less than 3,000 square feet of gross floor area;
- New structures of less than 1,000 square feet of gross floor area;
- Demolition of less than 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, and
- Any project at the discretion of the Chief Building Official or designee.
If your project falls under the ordinance, you are required to submit a Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan.
Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan
If your project falls under the C&D ordinance, you must fill out and return a Recycling Plan to the Building Department showing how you will divert 50% of the waste generated from your project. Recycling Plan forms can be obtained from the Building Department when applying for a building or demolition permit.
A Recycling Plan must be submitted before a building permit will be issued.
If it is determined that the Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan is incomplete it will be returned to the applicant. The applicant will be required to submit additional information before the building or demolition permit is issued. A single plan may be used for multiple building permits where construction activities are occurring concurrently by the same applicant. Separate Waste Reduction and Recycling Plans must be submitted for each batch of building permits requested. Separate calculations, plans and reports are required for the construction portion and demolition portion of projects.
For all projects where the waste hauler is Davis Waste Removal, only the Recycling Plan must be submitted—no additional forms will be required. Davis Waste Removal (DWR) will haul all C&D waste to the sort facility at the Yolo County Central Landfill and will provide all appropriate information directly to the City.
What if I want to self-haul?
DWR is the City’s franchise waste hauler. If you choose not to use DWR to haul your C&D materials, then you are responsible for hauling your own materials. This means that you or your employees are solely responsible for the collection and transport of your waste. Per City Code, you cannot hire anyone or any other entity besides DWR to haul your waste. This restriction does not limit your ability to sell or donate separated C&D materials (such as wood, door knobs, scrap metal, etc.) for reuse or recycling, as long as the entity accepting your material does not require you to pay a monetary or non-monetary consideration for the collection, transportation, transfer, or processing of your materials (City Municipal Code 32.01.030).
If you decide to self-haul C&D waste instead of using DWR, you are required to submit proof of compliance to the Building Department before final inspection. Proof of compliance includes:
- Waste Reduction and Recycling Report form.
- Receipts from the vendor/facility which collected or received each material showing the actual weight of that material (recyclables and solid waste).*
- Weight slips/count of material salvaged or reused in current project.*
- Any additional information needed to support a good faith effort determination.
*Each receipt/weight slip must clearly state the project title and date. If the receipt provides information for multiple projects, the project titles and the amounts of material for each project must be clearly identified.
Determination of Compliance
For all projects where Davis Waste Removal is the waste hauler, 50% compliance is automatically assumed.
On “self haul” projects the Public Works Department will review the Waste Reduction and Recycling Report to determine whether the applicant has complied with the diversion requirement, as follows:
- Full Compliance: The project has met the diversion requirement.
- Good Faith Effort to Comply: The project did not meet the diversion requirement, but the applicant has made a good faith effort to comply.
- Non-Compliance: The project did not meet the diversion requirement and the applicant has not made a good faith effort to comply. A $1,000 penalty for non-compliance may be assessed.
Reuse and Recycle C&D Materials
If you decide to self-haul, there are several ways to get your diversion credit.
The Yolo County Central Landfill has a sorting facility that will take C&D waste, sort it and guarantee a 50% recycling rate. Taking C&D waste to the sort facility may be the easiest way for self-haulers to meet diversion requirements. Information about the C&D sorting facility at the landfill can be found on the Yolo County Central Landfill page (www.yolocounty.org/Index.aspx?page=443).
Materials can also be sorted out by type and recycled or reused to get diversion credit. Below is a listing of some common materials and how to re-use or recycle them:
- asphalt/tile/concrete: asphalt, ceramic tiles and clean concrete in blocks 2' x 2' x 8" or smaller can be taken to the Yolo County Central Landfill at no charge.
- bricks: can often be sold to masonry companies for reuse; look in the Yellow Pages under “brick” and “concrete.”
- cardboard: Recycle at Davis Waste Removal.
- sawdust: can be used for compost.
- scrap metal/fixtures: if they are reusable, try to give them away or sell them by calling scrap metal dealers; look in the Yellow Pages under “scrap metals.” Recycle scrap metal at Davis Waste Removal.
- window glass: this type of glass is different from glass in bottles and jars and is not easily recycled. If intact, window glass may be taken to a salvage yard for re-use.
- wood/lumber/pallets: can be taken to the Yolo County Central Landfill wood facility (666-8729) or Woodland Biomass Facility (661-6095).
Unwanted construction materials can be listed in the “free section” of the Davis Enterprise. Another free listing is CALMAX (California Materials Exchange). This service helps businesses find markets for materials they have traditionally discarded. Call CALMAX at 1-877-520-9703 or go to www.calmax.org. Davis Builders Outpost (www.davisbuildersoutpost.org) is a local, free website that facilitates the trade, sale and re-use of building materials, tools, machinery and other items.
The City of Davis Recyclopedia (www.cityofdavis.org/pw/recycle/atoz.cfm) offers a list of over 150 different items and how to reuse and recycle them locally.
Specific Exemptions
There are specific exemptions from the C&D ordinance for construction and demolition work that is done in conjunction with an emergency or a building/structure deemed substandard by the California Building Code through the Chief Building Official. Exemptions are also allowed for projects contaminated by hazardous substances or waste (as defined by state or federal law) and any project at the discretion of the Chief Building Official or designee.