Study finds about 1/3 of all construction and demolition waste entering Summit County landfill could instead be recycled
The Summit Board of County Commissioners is trying to get a better understanding of how much construction and demolition debris is going into the landfill, and what can be diverted
A study of the Summit County landfill found that around one-third of all construction and demolition waste could be diverted, rather than thrown out.
High Country Conservation executive director Jen Schenk told the Summit Board of County Commissioners at a work session on Tuesday, Oct. 8, that working to divert construction and demolition debris should be a focus as the county looks to meet diversion goals and extend the life of the landfill.
“I want to remind us the reason why (construction and demolition waste) is so important,” Schenk said. “We are estimating that roughly 30% of the landfill waste going into the (Summit County Resource Allocation Park) is construction and debris.”
Despite construction and demolition debris making up such a large portion of the overall waste, Schenk said “there’s very little (construction and demolition waste) being recovered at the landfill right now.” The county has set goals to divert 25% of construction and demolition debris from the landfill by 2028 and 50% of construction and demolition debris by 2035.
This is in a bid to extend the life of the landfill, which is currently estimated to reach capacity by 2078. County officials have set an overarching goal to divert 40% of all waste from the landfill by 2035.
The study, which received funding from the county’s Strong Futures Fund, was conducted with assistance from Resource Recycling Systems, a Michigan-based sustainability consulting company.
Resource Recycling Systems consultant Coryanne Mansell said the study involved a team that visually inspected loads of construction and demolition debris entering the landfill over a two-day period to estimate the amount of material that could be diverted.
“The samples included projects from single-family residential, commercial as well as new construction, remodels and demolition projects,” Mansell said. “The intention was (to do) a visual waste audit. So we’re not moving the materials when they were tipped at the landfill. We’re just visually auditing, so walking around the materials.”
In total, the study encapsulates estimates for more than 250,000 pounds of materials over 68 samples, Mansell said. Materials were organized across 11 categories, with some categories, like wood, breaking down into subcategories such as clean lumber or painted wood, she said.
Debris from single-family residential projects accounted for about 70% of the construction and demolition debris, while commercial and multifamily residential projects accounted for about 30%. Of the 68 projects contributing to the inspected waste, 41 were remodels, 19 were new construction and eight were demolitions.
“What were those key observations, key findings?” Mansell said. “One of the takeaways is that across nine samples, greater than 50% of the material was clean or untreated wood. So that’s just one example of where there’s an opportunity to target recyclable materials.”
Overall, wood materials made up the largest portion of the waste stream, accounting for more than 100,000 pounds or about 40% of the total materials inventoried in the study. A little less than half of that wood, or about 17% of the total materials inventoried, could have been recycled, Mansell said.
Other recyclable materials like cardboard, aggregates, organics, scrap metal and rigid plastics made up a smaller portion of the overall waste stream. But Mansell said that 33%, or 86,000 pounds, of the total materials inspected in the study have recovery potential and could be diverted from the landfill. The Summit County Resource Allocation Park already has the capabilities to recycle many of these materials, including clean wood and pallets, she said.
Schenk noted that an ordinance requiring the sorting of construction and demolition debris is not currently being considered, so any sorting of materials would be voluntary. But she noted that the county has plans to purchase a wood grinder for $2 million in 2025 to help with diversion efforts.
Commissioner Tamara Pogue noted that the local builders’ association has raised concerns with the proposals related to construction and demolition waste at the landfill, and asked the High Country Conservation Center to make meeting with the association a priority.
Commissioner Eric Mamula said that he is interested in seeing diversion of construction debris get started as soon as possible while easing the industry into any changes at the county’s resource allocation park.
“I would like to make this as easy as possible to start and sort of just ease into this,” Mamula said. “I know we have a date of 2035, but if somehow you can start diverting parts of this stream easily right now and get some buy-in from that user group, that might be easier.”
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