Mandates without the pain: cities in California are trying contractor-friendly methods to promote C&D recycling - C&D Series - Brief Article

Recycling Today, May, 2002 by Lisa Keating

ENFORCEMENT METHODS

Examples of enforcement tools used by jurisdictions for non-compliance with C&D ordinances include the following:

* Many jurisdictions require that a waste management plan be approved prior to issuing a building permit. One city warns it may bar permittees from receiving future building permits if a final waste management plan is not submitted properly at the projects' end.

* Contracts for city-sponsored projects may permit the withholding of final payment until a final diversion report and documentation is submitted.

* Cities may treat the failure to follow the C&D diversion ordinance as a misdemeanor.

* A common approach is simply to retain a contractor's deposit if requirements are not met.

PASSING A LAW

Once jurisdiction staff is convinced of the need for a C&D diversion program, co-workers and City Council may need convinced. Staff may need to overcome misperceptions that the program will add significant expense and be met with substantial resistance by contractors and residents.

Staff should confirm with facilities that residents would be expected to use whether they accept jurisdiction debris and at what price.

In Southern California, tipping fees for source-separated C&D debris are usually less expensive than landfill tipping fees, despite the relatively low disposal fees. For example, Los Angeles area disposal tipping fees can be as low as $18. With tipping fees for asphalt and concrete ranging from free to $10 per ton, depending on the condition of the material, and tipping fees for dirt and brick ranging from $1.50 to $15 per ton, C&D processing facilities are still economical alternatives.

In California, the key to convincing local elected officials of the importance of a C&D diversion program is to demonstrate the risk of non-diversion. Jurisdictions risk a $10,000 per day fine for failing to meet requirments, either by reaching 50 percent overall diversion by weight or by implementing sufficient programs toward the goal to show a "good faith" effort. If a jurisdiction has not met the goal, diverting additional C&D debris or the implementation of a program to increase this diversion could save the city substantial fines. RT

PAC COAST PROGRAMS

Additional resources for examples of C&D diversion programs and ordinances are the City of San dose Web site at www.sjrecycles.org, the Alameda County Web site at www.stopwaste.org, and the CIWMB Web site at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/ ConDemo/SampleDocs/. Additional C&D recycling industry news is at the C&D Recyclin9 section of the www.RecyclingToday.com Web site.

The author is a Senior Consultant with Hilton, Farnkopf & Hobson, LLC, working from the company's Newport Beach, Calif., office.