Info Note on global CnD Policy n Practice 2014

India is urbanizing faster than its planners can cope with. In metros like Bangalore today, construction and demolition (C&D) waste or debris accounts for one-third of total municipal solid waste. Unlike garbage for which collection and systems have been in place for decades, there is no formal system for prevention, reduction, management, reuse and recycling of C&D waste.

So a Policy and Ordinance for Management of Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste, and its effective enforcement, are necessary to control and minimize indiscriminate illegal dumping of C&D waste (called “fly tipping”) all over the city on vacant sites, beside highways, below flyovers and on lake shores.

Global Scenario

Germany like other countries faced huge post-war bombing rubble-disposal issues. Stuttgart solved this by creating a mini-hillock outside town which is now a recreational hang-gliding spot.

Nowadays the worldwide problem of illegal dumping is being effectively solved in the past 10-20 years by segregation, reuse and recycling of building wastes. Singapore by 2007 recycled 98% of its construction waste, Denmark 90%. California’s ordinance requires 50% recycling of C&D waste and 75% diversion of inerts from landfills.

Europe’s Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC) Mandate 125 of 1998 introduced standards for recycled aggregates related to their end-uses, boosting consumer acceptance. The UK’s recycling of aggregates is the highest in Europe, and accounts for 25% of all aggregate purchased. This has created a new recycling industry, promotes innovation and new products and uses. The International Recycling Federation works to harmonise quality standards for recycled materials. See References below.

Key elements of a C&D Policy are a Waste Management Plan (WMP) integrated with the tendering process and building permits. These WMPs are compulsory for all public buildings (in Hong Kong since 2000) and worldwide for initially the largest construction projects. Enforcement and penalties are vital for achieving recycling targets.

The commonest and most effective tool has been a Bond based approach which provides an incentive to successfully reach recycling targets or comply with rules. A Compliance Deposit, or Bond, is to be paid as performance security when applying for building permits. This is refunded as and when minimum recycling requirements or disposal requirements are met. A reporting system is in place so that checks can be carried out after project completion.

This Compliance Deposit (performance security) fee is 1.5 - 2% of the project value, plus non-refundable administration fees of 0.3% of the project value. Happily, WMPs and compliance deposits have resulted in upto 50% savings in waste disposal costs for projects where correct processes are followed.

2Worldwide, small homes are excluded from WMP requirements. Progressively included are firstly ALL public buildings, and all large projects of over 10 houses or 1,250 sq m construction or 100 cu m demolition waste (or 500 cu m civil engg project waste), to as small as 5000 sft commercial or 1000 sft residential projects in California.

In some cases, WMPs are mandatory above a certain project value : US$ 50,000 for private or $150,000 for public projects, $10,000 for re-roofing work, in UK above 300,000 pounds sterling. In Singapore since 1999, in addition to a WMP or Site Environmental Control Programme, projects over Sing $ 50 million must appoint a fulltime Environmental Control Officer (ECO) or part-time ECO if over Sing$ 10 million.The ECO’s duties are :_ Site management of waste and construction materials,

_ Ensuring construction wastes are properly disposed of,

_ reduce C&D waste to landfill;

_ reduce overall quantity of C&D waste due to greater planning leading towaste prevention;

_ increase levels of onsite re-use and recycling of C&D waste,

_ reduce fly-tipping (illegal dumping)

It is necessary for all construction industry stakeholders, particularly clients and all professionals such as Architects, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors, to be pro-active in the systematic reduction and proper management of C&D waste in the public interest.

In the UK, projects over ￡500,000 must additionally furnish:_ the waste carriers’ registration numbers;_ a description of the waste; and_ details of the environmental permit of the site where material is to be taken.

Japan’s Construction Waste Recycling Law requires submission of a site plan prior to construction and/or demoli,tion commencing which outlines the intended management plan for separating and recycling waste on site, and describes the proposed site and intended C&D waste reuse/recovery operations. The latest technologies available to the market are included by describing improved processes and innovations in the waste permit application.

SFO requires a contractor to have mixed waste removed from the site by a Registered Transporter who must deliver the waste to a Registered Facility capable of of recycling 65% of mixed C&D waste. Receipt of proof from the Registered Facility that a minimum of 65% of the waste has been recycled enables the contractor to receive their bond back.

3In San Jose, projects must comply with 50% recycling requirements for private projects and 75% target for public projects in order to receive their compliance deposit back.

In Canada, Ontario’s Regulation 103/94 mandates source separation for C&D in projects over 2,000 sq m.

In 2001 Japan updated its laws to require 95% recycling of specified construction materials by 2010, while Government projects were expected to be producing zero waste by 2005.

All these obligations for onsite source separation of recyclables are forcing contractors to also consider:_ on-site separation practices;_ demolition methods designed for easy separation of different materials _ re-using the material from demolition projects in construction projects;_ using recycled aggregate and other products with recycled content in the construction _ constructing buildings in a way that allows for easy disassembly, material sorting and recycling, at the end of their life_ minimizing onsite waste by use of prefabricated concrete slabs

A Japanese construction company, Sekisui House, voluntarily achieved zero waste at their construction sites in 2005 through onsite presorting (which reduced waste by 50%) followed by offsite sorting and recycling or reuse, resulting in savings of US$350,000.

Local Best Practices

In Bangalore, one robust eco-friendly system of recycling has been in use for decades. Earthmovers charge a cubic-meter fee for excavating foundations and footings and load the soil into trucks which go to brick-kilns and return with fired red bricks for the same or other customers. It is the excavated soil which is unsuitable for brick-making, or from self-excavated works, which often ends up along roadsides and on vacant sites. Night police cannot be asked to regulate this as they are the ones who harass all truck-drivers and pocket a fee to allow illegal dumping or even legal concrete-pouring at night.

A second good example in Bangalore for zero-excavation-waste since years, is to convert this in Balwan / Mardini block-making machines into soil-cement blocks for use as both internal and external in-fill walls in RCC-frame structures. Rammed-earth construction using excavated soil and stone-crusher dust can be seen at the 19,000 sft Tanisandra High School, the first such large building in India and perhaps South Asia.

A Discussion Draft of a proposed Ordinance in furtherance of a State policy for C&D waste, beginning with the Bangalore Metropolitan Region, is given below for comments by knowledgeable persons in the construction industry and by related trade associations (of Builders, Contractors, Brickmakers etc). Applying it to BBMP alone will be unviable. A Vacant Site Management policy is also a necessary parallel to any C&D legislation but is not drafted yet.

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CONSTRUCTION & DEMOLITION WASTE POLICY

FOR THE BANGALORE METROPOLITAN REGION

1, It shall apply within one month of the C&D Ordinance to all new Government and public buildings of any size, and all applications for building permits over 1 acre.

2, It shall apply one year later to all construction projects on 50ft x 80 ft sites and above.

3, Within 3 weeks of the Ordinance, one Debris Site at a time per Zone for BBMP shall be identified, after verifying title and current ownership and possession, along with similar sites for construction projects in BDA and BMRDA areas. These shall be designated/ notified and publicized for deposition of C&D waste from respective areas. NO municipal solid waste whatever will be accepted at such sites.

4, Concerned agencies (BBMP, BDA, BMRDA, Railways, Defence) shall ensure adequate allweather road access with clearly marked entry and exit routes. As these roads will attract encroachment construction along them, a narrow zone of NO NEW DEVELOPMENT shall be declared around such C&D landfills until the site is fully utilized.

5, In large plots, Land-Hills may be considered and planned for high-rise deposition of C&D waste to extend site life.

6, In all such plots, provisional master-plans may be made for earmarked use after site life is over. Notice-boards of proposed use may be erected around the site.

7, C&D Waste Management Plans (WMPs) shall be submitted along with applications for permission to construct, covering the following minimum benchmarked quantities of C&D waste:

(A) 30 cubic meters per 100 sq meters of old structures to be demolished (This excludes salvageable and saleable scrap).

(B) 30% of soil excavation volumes for footings and foundations

(C ) 5% wastage / surplus of every type of construction material purchased

8, The Bill of Quantities shall also be furnished along with the application for NOC.

9, The Applicant shall also mention the proposed Debris Site for the project’s C&D Waste and its distance from the project site.

10, At the time of granting NOC, the applicant shall deposit a conditionally-refundable Compliance Deposit equal to 1.5% of total project cost or approximately Rs 500 per kilometer-ton of estimated waste to be transported, whichever is higher. A separate ledger account will be opened for each Compliance Deposit received by the concerned authority.

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11, The Debris Site Manager shall issue an uploadable computerised Receipt [similar to that for electricity bills] mentioning the Project Name, Transport Contractor, Lorry Number, Driver’s Name, time of arrival, weight recorded, and type of waste (soil, concrete, aggregate, blocks, bricks, demolition waste, gypsum, ceramics, wood, metals, other). These DS Receipts will entitle the project manager to claim a monthly prorata refund of the Compliance Deposit.

12, A 2% rebate of Compliance Deposit will be given to applications where the invited tenders give weightage to waste minimization and onsite recycling plans. The final 5% of Compliance Deposit will be retained until after final inspection of the site and grant of Completion Certificate.

13, C&D waste from smaller projects will be accepted at their respective Zonal Debris Sites against a Receipt mentioning all details as above. These need to be kept onsite and produced on demand during routine or surprise inspections of the site.

14, The routine Ground Rent Charges collected for use of site frontage for transit storage of materials into any construction site will be valid only until the centering is removed from the first completed slab constructed. Transit materials shall be received and stored below this slab thereafter. Ground Rent Charges will be doubled thereafter if applied for, tripled after construction of the next slab completion and so on.

15, These Ground Rent Charges shall be kept in a separate Escrow Account and used for administration of this C&D Ordinance and effective on-site monitoring, preferably by a third party. [Who? Dept of Env? Registered Surveyors?]

16, No demolition waste should be stored outside the site perimeters and violations should attract penalties.

17, Until the first slab is completed, all construction material, even for the smallest houses, shall not spill onto the carriageway of a road. Sand shall be retained behind a retaining wall of loose bricks if available, or a row of filled sandbags. Likewise for aggregate and other materials which can spill onto the road surface.

18, Tenders may be invited, preferably on Swiss Challenge basis, for a Debris Site Manager or firm, with preference given to those submitting plans with details for the maximum waste reuse and recycling. Preference may also be given to any brick-makers offering to manage the sorting and placement for reuse, of different types of soil received at the Debris Site.

19, The Waste Management Plans shall include the following:

A, Demarcated places onsite where different demolition materials will be sorted and stored for dispatch

B, Volume of unsaleable demolition waste which will be absorbed into the plinth of the proposed new construction.

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C, Details of demolition contractors or subcontractors if any and their planned destinations for different types of demolition waste other than valuable saleable items like timber, doors and windows and steel. Details of persons authorized to collect refund of Compliance Deposit for estimated demolition waste against computerized inward receipts from Debris Sites.

D, Designated places for on-site stacking of construction materials and waste materials (e.g. broken bricks or ceramics saved for surkhi waterproofing and china mosaic).

E, Plans for recycling or reuse of different types of construction waste, e.g. jobs which will be kept ready to absorb leftover readymix concrete, such as stair treads or paved areas, or soil-cement blocks for filler-walls.

F, Plans with quantities of recycled C&D materials (like aggregate) which will be used in construction, with ongoing proof of use.

G, Plans for waste minimization below benchmarked volumes in Point 4 above, e.g. volumes of prefabricated concrete units which will not generate onsite waste.

H, Volumes of onsite waste which will be absorbed onsite, e.g. in pudding-concrete (puddled concrete) compound walls or aggregate in rainwater-harvesting pits.

I, Details of Registered Transporters who will move waste off-site.

J, Project manager’s verifiable plan to ensure no illegal dumping of C&D waste.

K, Identify and provide details of the person or firm ultimately responsible for compliance (like a factory Occupier). This may be the architect or builder or contractor or site manager.

20, Require sanctioned building plan and Waste Mgt Plan details to be displayed on the road frontage for easy access to the public, for effective citizen monitoring.

21, There shall be a separate C&D waste website where the above information is available, along with a list of suggestions for waste minimization and an interactive section where useful ideas or experiences can be uploaded and discussed.

22, A Waste Exchange hotline can connect those with excess material and those needing it.

23, Provide incentives, awards and publicity for zero-waste campuses.

24, Create fiscal incentives for using recycled materials

25, Get a five-year tax holiday and Sales Tax exemption for C&D recycling industries to encourage such businesses.

26, Retain most suitable quarries for rainwater harvesting ponds

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27, Before filling quarries used by the poorest for washing or for defecation, first provide water-taps and toilets to prevent day-to-day hardship to them

28, Involve neighbourhood in monitoring ecofriendly operations and eventual land use of the filled site and pubicise this.

29, To control illegal dumping, empower Citizen Surveillance through a Debris Hot-line, where suspected offenders & if possible their lorry numbers can be noted. The RTO must help trace offenders promptly to enable preventinve action for more violations.

30, Provide for rewards to informers, including vigilant constables, who provide proof of illegal dumping, by way of a percentage of resulting penalty collections. Consider a ban on late-night movement of C&D waste trucks.

31, Illegally-dumped “orphan” waste shall be cleared by BBMP etc at their expense, from a common fund from forfeited Compliance Deposits or enhanced Ground Rent.

32, Monthly wardwise collection drives on a fixed date must clear frontages of leftover construction material unless written exemption is applied for before the clearance date. Different vehicles must separately collect sand, bricks, blocks, aggregate on that date so that all can be used as raw material for a pre-designated school expansion or repair or similar public-service purpose.

33, SWM vehicles can be used in a second shift for such debris clearance drives.

34, Enforce compliance by issuing Commencement Certificates only on production of proof of correct disposal of excavation and foundation soil, and issuing Completion Certificates only against proof of correct disposal of benchmarked 5% of civil-work volumes.

35, Penalise identified defaulters by charging double the going transport rates (currently Rs 500 a cubic meter) for clearance of nuisance heaps by the Municipality through its own or out-sourced vehicles. Specified penalites should automatically increase annually, with escalations matched to the inflation rate or cost-of-living index etc.

36, Silt from desilting work and waste from road-repair work (broken asphalt etc) can be accepted at a specified corner of a Debris Site if trucks bring an authority letter from the concerned contractor and collect a receipt for inspection on demand.

37, C&D waste from minor house-repairs or alterations must be filled in old cement bags, not left loose on the road. Municipal waste contractors can pick this up for a small fee [Rs 10 per wheelbarrowload in Calcutta] from individual households.

38, Multi-dwelling households generating minor C&D repair waste should purchase empty bags [at Rs 5 each in Churchgate, Mumbai with a refund for empties] to store onsite and cover transport costs to Debris Sites by bulk generators.

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References:

WRAP (2008) European Standards for Aggregates (2004), Accessed 23rd October 2008,http://www.aggregain.org.uk/quality/aggregates_standards/european.html

WRAP (2005) The Quality Protocol for the Production of Aggregates from Inert Waste, AccessedOctober 23rd 2008, http://www.wrap.org.uk/downloads/0083_Quality_Protocol_A4.21d89729.87.pdf

WRAP (2004) European Standards for Aggregates, Accessed 21st January 2009,http://www.aggregain.org.uk/quality/aggregates_standards/european.htmlhttp://www.aggregain.org.uk/quality/aggregates_standards/european.html

WRAP’s Aggregate Programme website,http://www.aggregain.org.uk/wrap_aggregates/index.html, accessed 16thFebruary 2009.

QPA’s website, http://www.qpa.org/prod_agg01.htm, accessed 16th February2009.

City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development (2008) Administrative Rules Commercial Solid Waste, Recycling and Compostables, Accessed 15th January 2008,http://www.portlandonline.com/osd/index.cfm?a=218220&c=41472

City of Chicago, Ordinance 11-4-1905 Construction or Demolition Site Waste Recycling, Accessed 16th January 2008,http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?contentOID=536932617&contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL&topChannelName=HomePage

Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Environment and Water Management (2006) Federal Waste Management Plan 2006: Suitable for Nature and Mankind. Available at: http://www.bundesabfallwirtschaftsplan.at/

Gruzen Samton LLP with City Green Inc. (2003) Construction and Demolition Waste Manual, prepared for New York City Department of Design and Construction, Accessed 19th January 2009, http://www.nyc.gov/html/ddc/downloads/pdf/waste.pdf