As of January 2014 all construction and demolition projects in Seattle will need to keep the following material out of disposal containers and transfer station disposal areas: metal, cardboard, and new construction gypsum scrap materials. Asphalt paving, bricks, and concrete are already banned from disposal. The expanded disposal ban will not apply to other targeted recyclable materials such as carpet, plastic film wrap, clean wood, and tear-off asphalt shingles until 2015. After learning from industry stakeholders about problems with recycling infrastructure and markets, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) undertook rulemaking in October 2013 to delay the implementation date for carpet and plastic film wrap to 2015.
Facility Certification
SPU has published an initial list of “qualified” receiving and recycling facilities that will comply with Seattle’s material ban requirements. The list of qualifying criteria by which a facility is determined to be certified can be found at the www.seattle.gov/util/
CDWasteManagement webpages. The status of the listed facilities will be confirmed by May 2014 after SPU has determined that each facility listed has met all local public health requirements and the testing of the residual from these facilities conforms with Seattle’s material ban requirements.
“Qualified” mixed waste recycling operations also will be expected to submit monthly reports to SPU of inbound and outbound materials. “Qualified” source separated recycling facilities will need to be in good standing with their “permit exempt” status and submit an annual recycling report to SPU if they received any inbound materials for reuse or recycling from Seattle.
Transfer stations will be expected to either inform their customers that they either do not offer recycling of the targeted commodities or that they ship them to a “qualified” recycler for sorting.
Building Permit Requirement: Waste Diversion Planning and Reporting
Building owners, property management companies, or construction contractors applying for a Seattle building permit will have new reporting and documentation requirements as well. The Seattle building and residential codes now require all projects over 750 square feet to submit to DPD a Waste Diversion Plan prior to receiving a permit. If the project involves a total or partial demolition then a salvage assessment will also need to be submitted.
The Waste Diversion Plan identifies waste materials that may be generated on the job site, the potential hauler, and the receiving location. There is no requirement to salvage material from a project. However, the salvage assessment is designed to encourage a thoughtful evaluation of what materials or systems could be reused or repurposed, instead of recycled or disposed.
The Waste Diversion Plan and Deconstruction Salvage Assessment can be found on DPD’s list of forms: http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/permits/forms/default.htm.
Both the Seattle building and residential codes and the Solid Waste Code now require that permittees submit a Waste Diversion Report (WDR) within 60 days of a project receiving its Final Inspection Approval from DPD. The WDR documents the quantities of different waste materials generated on the job site, how they were hauled and where they were delivered for reuse, recycling, and disposal. Facilities will need to give those hauling the materials receipts for each load which records the weight, estimated volume, or number of items delivered. Those doing the hauling will need to give all receipts to the project superintendent or manager. SPU will be reviewing the WDRs primarily to check if materials are being delivered to “qualified” receiving and recycling facilities.
The Waste Diversion Report can be found at the www.seattle.gov/util/
CDWasteManagement webpages.
Program contacts:
- Gabriella Uhlar-Heffner of SPU at (206) 386-9772 – Certified Facilities and Waste Diversion Report
- Shirli Axelrod of SPU at (206) 684-7804 – Recycling Requirements
- Kathleen Petrie of DPD at (206) 615-0541 – Waste Diversion Plan and Salvage Assessment