Jul 5 - New SF Law Requires Construction Groups to Recycle
Bay City News Service reported that San Francisco's Construction and Demolition Debris Recovery Ordinance went into effect on July 1st, requiring all contractors in the city to send construction waste to a certified facility for recycling, instead of to landfills. The city homes the law will increase the amount of materials recycled by eight percent and has already seen an increase in the first few days of implementation.
SAN FRANCISCO - A new city law mandating the recycling of construction materials took effect this week and it has already boosted production for several local waste-management companies.
The Construction and Demolition Debris Recovery Ordinance, introduced by Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Fiona Ma, took effect Saturday and requires that all contractors in the city send their waste to a certified facility instead of straight to a landfill.
Construction waste generated in San Francisco, which includes wood, metal, sheetrock, concrete, asphalt, bricks, cardboard and hard plastics, accounts for more than 100,000 tons of landfill every year, according to SF Environment, the city's environmental agency.
You can read the complete article in the San Jose Mercury News, which also notes that 65-70% of construction waste is recyclable. Much of this construction and demolition debris is reused back into construction such has crushing up old concrete to build new sidewalks and roads.
What You Can Do:
- Read more about how to reuse items when starting a construction project, or any project, by checking out CAW's Living Green Section.