Starting July 1, 2014, all construction and demolition projects will need to comply with new construction and demolition waste requirements before we issue a permit.
Why this is happening? Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and DPD are working together to increase recycling and salvage rates in an effort to achieve the city’s landfill diversion goals. Seattle’s current goal is to divert 70 percent of construction and demolition waste from landfills by the year 2020. Certain materials are easy to either salvage or recycle, so we now ban asphalt paving, brick, concrete, metal, cardboard, and new gypsum scrap from being sent to a landfill for disposal within the city of Seattle. SPU has set up a facility certification program identifying qualified receiving and recycling facilities that comply with the material ban requirement.
To help the City accomplish its waste diversion goal we require that you submit a Waste Diversion Plan with your building permit application for all construction projects with a work area greater than 750 square feet. Developing a plan prior to starting work will help building owners consider:
- What “waste” materials might be produced from a project
- Which facilities will manage banned materials appropriately
- Who is going to take them there
For demolition projects and construction and alteration projects that include demolition, where the area of work is greater than 750 square feet, you are also required to submit a Deconstruction and Salvage Assessment. The assessment indicates which of the materials identified in the plan are potentially salvageable – please refer to the form for directions on who should fill it out. Although we do not require you to salvage materials from your project site, we want you to start thinking about what materials could be salvaged. Don’t forget that whole building relocation is the ultimate salvage solution!
You also need to submit a Waste Diversion Report to SPU within 60 days of the final inspection approval. The report does not have to match your plan since not everything can be anticipated prior to construction. However, the report should show:
- What materials were actually produced during demolition
- The quantity of each material
- How you diverted the material
- The identities of the hauler and receiving location
These requirements have been in effect since the 2012 Seattle Building Code was adopted in late December 2013. Starting July 1, 2014, we will begin enforcing the requirement on all construction and demolition projects before we issue your permits. If you do not submit a Deconstruction Salvage Assessment and/or the Waste Diversion Plan when you apply for a building permit application, you can email these forms at any time during the review process to DPD_Plans_Routing@seattle.gov.
We understand that this is a change for our permit applicants and that there may be questions concerning the new requirements. Please submit questions about the general permit process to the DPD online Q & A, http://web6.seattle.gov/dpd/LUQnA/?Type=2 (under “Topic” select: General Permitting). For technical questions about the Deconstruction Salvage Assessment and/or the Waste Diversion Plan, please submit questions to Seattle Public Utilities at WasteDiversionReport@seattle.gov.
Resources
- Waste Diversion Plan and Deconstruction & Salvage Assessment Form http://seattle.gov/dpd/permits/forms/default.htm.
- Waste Diversion Report & Submital Instructionshttp://www.seattle.gov/util/ForBusinesses/Construction/
CDWasteManagement/RecyclingRequirements/WasteDiversionReport/ - Certified Processing Facilities (Updated Quarterly) http://www.seattle.gov/util/ForBusinesses/Construction/
CDWasteManagement/RecyclingRequirements/CertifiedFacilities/ - More Information on Seattle’s Material Bans http://www.seattle.gov/util/ForBusinesses/Construction/
CDWasteManagement/RecyclingRequirements/