Materials and Resources COLLECTIONOCT - 2013

CONSTRUCTION & DEMOLITION MANAGEMENT IN HOUSTON

COLLECTION Series guides are aimed at all those involved in the process of pro-curement, design and construction of the green built environment in the Texas Gulf Coast Area. They shoud stimulate funda-mental change in green practices by pro-viding information on particular technolo-gies and practices, showca- sing LEED awarded examples in the region and pro-viding specific guidance of practices in relation to the LEED rating system.

Status of Construction & Demolition Waste

The Houston-Galveston region generates more than 7.2 million tons of waste each year;1 nearly forty percent of that waste is from construction and demolition (C&D).2 The volume of the C&D waste is projected to expand with the region’s strong eco-nomic and population growth. Currently, the region is home to 75% of landfills per-mitted for construction and demolition waste in Texas.3 Market adoption of the LEED green building rating system has advanced awareness of C&D waste recycling prac-tices amongst building professionals. Currently, nearly 25% of the C&D waste across Texas is diverted from the landfill; but it is estimated that 90% of the waste stream is potentially reusable or recyclable.4 Increasing the rate of materials diversion has the potential to create jobs, reduce landfill expansion, save energy, and protect natu-ral resources in the region.

Competition has driven designers and builders to tightly control material costs for new construction. Practices to reduce material waste combined with onsite recy-cling have reduced C&D waste from new construction to 8% of total residential C&D waste.5 Onsite materials separation can be done at little to no additional cost, and many contractors have embraced it as standard practice. Four area companies currently provide dumpsters for onsite waste separation and generate LEED reports based on the estimated weights of the dumpsters. The accuracy of the reports being produced merits further consideration, as the methodology of estimating by weight does not accurately reflect the breakdown of contributing materials. C&D mate- rials collected in waste separation dumpsters include concrete, wood, cardboard, and metal. Drywall, insulation, asphalt roofing, and plastics all have potential value, but collection currently does not occur in the region due to the lack of a market for the materials.

Demolition accounts for 48% and renovation accounts 44% of the region’s C&D waste respectively.6 Demolition and renovation wastes are more difficult to separate, resulting in higher contamination levels and lower market value. Demolition compa-nies collect and market easily recoverable and valuable materials, the rest is sent to the landfill. Deconstruction is an emerging alternative to the demolition model. It is a labor intensive process of building disassembly and material salvage. Deconstruction may be a small part of the demolition process or may take the place of demolition activities. Not all projects are candidates for deconstruction; materials collected from a project must be sufficiently valuable to offset labor costs. Incorporating recycled materials into renovations requires designers to use foresight and creativity. Thought-fully incorporated salvaged materials can add unique features and aesthetics value to a design at reduced cost. Although reuse and recycling of C&D waste has advanced significantly in the past decade, ample opportunities remain for motivated organiza-tions and individuals to further reduce what the building and construction industry sends to the landfill.

TEXAS GULF COAST CHAPTER

1. 2011 Municipal Solid Waste in Texas: A Year in Review, TEQ, page 122. Residential C&D Waste Study, The Houston Advanced Research Center, 2005, page 33. 2011 Municipal Solid Waste in Texas: A Year in Review, TEQ, page 74. Residential C&D Waste Study, The Houston Advanced Research Center, 2005, page 25. Residential C&D Waste Study, The Houston Advanced Research Center, 2005, page 56. Construction Waste Handbook, The Houston Advanced Research Center, 2005, page 6

Coordination:Angela Bejarano BArch. MSc. USGBC TGCC Research Committee Chair

Collaboration: Joshua J. OwensSenior Regional PlannerHouston-Galveston Area Council

Mike ScottGreen Built Gulf Coast ManagerGHBA Sales Director

Contributors:Julie Birsinger, LEED AP BD+CGBCI LEED Certification Reviewer

Caroline Kostak USGBC TGCC Recycling Committee Chair

Sergio GradoUSGBC TGCC Vice ChairPresident, GradCo Structures & Homes, LLC

Jonathan Shaw USGBC Board Member Sustainability Director Tellepsem

This pubication has been possible thanks to the contribution of the following USGBC Texas Gulff Coast members, organizations and companies.

CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE

C&D LEED HOME CASE STUDYWhen veteran LEED AP Fellow architect LaVerne Williams sets out to design a home he leaves nothing to chance. Such was the case in the home designed for the Hilberg family. The home was 3200 sq ft and featured a detached garage and apartment for the mother-in-law for a total living square footage of 3800 sq ft. Unique to the construction of the home was the use of insulated concrete forms (ICF). Efficiencies were found through-out the detailed design resulting in a home reaching and surpassing the Plati-num level of LEED for Homes certification.

During construction, the debris amounted to mere wheelbarrows full as opposed to roll-off containers. Though roll-off con-tainers were present on-site, they never reached more than half full. In keep-ing with Material and Resources Catego-ries 3.1 “Construction Waste Management Planning” and 3.2 “Construction Waste Reduction” the objectives were met by the architect in the design. The waste reduction part was implemented by the builder. Four 20 yard roll-off containers were located on site, each labeled respec-tively for metal, paper & wood, plastic and other. The container labeled other served as a catch all for those waste items that could not readily be identified into a category. The contents were later sorted and divided into the other three containers before requesting pick up. What remained was a visible representa-tion of the total waste produced during construction. This equated to one 20 cubic yard roll-off container for the entire project in a nine month process. The norm would have been on average six 20 yard roll-off containers going to landfill.

Having established the recycling men-tality upfront in the project enlightened not only the workers but also the Hil-berg family. The young son found pur-pose in the few remaining ICF blocks to build a retaining wall for a pond that was to be used to recapture rainwater.

First, design out as much waste as possible.

Use a detailed framing plan, advanced framing techniques (see toolbase.org/woodframing for more details), or pre-fabricated wall panels to reduce the amount of wood waste.

Choose products that have minimal packaging, or work with vendor to reduce the packaging of preferred products.

Choosing durable products and construction practices can reduce the waste during the building’s life-time while increasing its lifespan.

Consider designing with decons-truction in mind to reduce waste at the building’s end of life (http://www.publicarchitecture.org/reuse/pdf/Primer-Online.pdf)

Then, divert as much waste as pos-sible:

If an existing structure must be removed prior to building or remo-deling, consider deconstruction.

Deconstruction is the orderly dis-mantling of a structure with intent to reuse or recycle recovered materials.

Deconstruction often provides a sizeable tax benefit to the home-owner when materials are donated to a non-profit.

For non-salvageable materials, Recy-cling is the best option. Recycling can either be sorted on-site or off-site.

On-Site Sorting:

Mark & designate separate contai-ners or areas on-site for different materials.

Have a plan for what to do with each class of material. The tables on next page show places to dis-pose different materials.

Having Site Supervisor buy-in of the recycling plan is critical to its suc-cess.

Sub-contractors will have to be trained on waste management plan.

Reference http://constructionwaste.sustainablesources.com/ for on-site sorting guidelines

PROJECT TEAM

HomeownersHilberg Family

BuilderGradCo

Structures & Homes, LLC

ArchitectLaVerne Williams, LEED AP Fellow

LEED RaterGuaranteed Watt Savers

Systems, Inc. - Kelly Parker, P.E.

In the process of building or remodeling a house or commercial structure, mana-ging waste has the potential to cost or save a lot of money. Several job-site strategies can help builders reduce waste and save money:

CONSTRUCTION & DEMOLITION RESOURCES IN THE HOUSTON GALVESTON AREA

Several non-profit organizations in Houston can provide Deconstruction and Material Reuse services:

Northwest Harris County Habitat for Hu-manity (http://www.habitatnwhc.org/

Historic Houston (www.historichouston.org).

The Reuse People www.thereusepeople.org/locations#Houston

The City of Houston Reuse Warehouse www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/reuse.html. Takes used building materials and gives them to non-profits at no cost.

Further information on C&D manage-ment can be found at:

http://www.recyclecddebris.com/rcdd/

(http://www.publicarchitecture.org/reuse/pdf/Primer-Online.pdf)

C&D LEED COMMERCIAL CASE STUDYThe Gulf States Toyota Corporate Head-quarters Campus was designed as a LEED project from day one. The project team as well as the corporate campus occupants, realized the importance and value of sus-tainable building practices in both design and construction. From using regional materials and choosing building materials containing recycled content to construction waste diversion, all aspects of sustainability were taken into account in the design and construction of the headquarter facilities.

The sheer size of the project alone posed a challenge in achieving the point for Ma-terial Reuse Credit 2.1 and 2.2. During the construction of the 450,000 square foot facility, 21,000 cubic yards of construction debris was generated. To put it in perspec-tive this was enough debris to fill up over 400,000 standard household trashcans or over 6 1/2 Olympic style swimming pools.

The project team was able to divert and recycle construction well over 16,000 cu-bic yards of waste debris, resulting in an 80% waste diversion from landfills. The debris was categorized into the fo-llowing recycled materials: metal, card-board/paper, concrete, wood/raw mate-rials, dirt, sheetrock, and tires. The debris was carefully sorted at an offsite faci-lity and the recycled materials sent to the recycling facilities where they were processed or recycled into their end use. For example, 2,500 cubic yards of sheet-rock went to a variety of recycling centers where the gypsum was processed into a mixture used for soil stabilization in road base. Over 10 cubic yards of tires were processed and recycled into rubber mulch used in playgrounds. The 200 plus cu-bic yards of concrete were processed and recycled into a variety of uses such as road base and rip rap for erosion control.

12.51%  

14.48%  

10.34%  

26.93%  

13.07%  

1.58%  21.05%  

0.05%  

The  Friedkin  Companies  Corporate  Headquarters  Campus  

Construc6on  Waste  Management  Tracking  Distribu6on  

Metal  

Cardboard/Paper    (YDS)  

Concrete    (YDS)  

Wood/Raw    (YDS)  

Dirt  

Sheetrock    (YDS)  

Trash    (YDS)  

Tires    (YDS)  

GULF STATES TOYOTA CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS CAMPUSHouston, Texas LEED SILVER Certified

PROJECT TEAM

OwnerFRIEDKIN COMPANIES.

General ContractorTELLEPSEM

ArchitectKIRKSEY Architect

C&D ContractorExcel Disposal

Off-Site Sorting:

Some recycling companies provide one-bin services, where all construction & demolition waste can be placed in one roll-off bin.

The materials are sorted at their location and a diversion report is issued that can be used for LEED or NAHB Standard points. See below for com-panies that provide these services.

Material   What  to  do  with  it...   Who  does  it...  

Cherry  Demolition  

Southern  Crushed  Concrete  

Century  Asphalt  Concrete  

Recycle.  Will  be  crushed  &  reused  as  rip  rap,  road  base  or  other  material    

Sprint  

Denail  &  Donate/Resell,     Lonestar  

Grind  for  onsite  use,  or  Recycle   Novus  Wood  Group  Wood  

    Sprint  

Metal   Take  to  metal  scrap  yard   many  

Cherry  Demolition  Asphalt  Shingles  

Recycle  Century  Asphalt  

Sprint  Drywall  

Grind  for  soil  amendment  or  combine  with  recycled  concrete   Cherry  Demolition  

 

COMPANY

One

-Bin C

&D

Recy

cling

Conc

rete

Asph

alt

Shingles

Dryw

all

Carp

et

LEED

Rep

orts

Cherry x x xLonestar x x x xSprint x x x xGainsboro x x xWaste Management x x x x

*Usually recycled: concrete & sheetrock, wood, cardboard, metal

DRAFTH NC

SCHO

OLS

CI HC ND EBOM CS

Max. Points Contribution as a Result of C&D Management

MRc2 Construction Waste Management 2 2 2 2 21 point awarded for diverting 50% of construction and demolition waste from landfill or incineration. Two points for 75%.

MRc3.1 Construction Waste Management Planning PR Prerequisite: create a Construction Waste Management Plan

MRc3.2 Construction Waste Reduction 3Up to 3 points awarded for reducing construction waste and/or diverting waste from landfill or incinerator.

MRc9 Solid Waste Management – Facility Alterations & Additions 11 point awarded for diverting 70% of construction and demolition waste from landfill or incineration during building alterations/additions.

GIBc16: Solid Waste Management Infrastructure 1Diverting 50% of construction and demolition debris contributes to 1 point (other solid waste management criteria must also be met)

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 point awarded for diverting 95% of construction and demolition waste.

1 0.5 point awarded for diverting 100% of construction and demolition waste.

RP Regional Priority 1 1 1 1 1 1 RP point is earned if two points in MRc2 are earned (pertains to the Houston area).

Innovation in Design

C&D Management ACROSS LEED 2009

ID

Points Available per CreditPrerequisite/Credits Impacted

LEED v4 showcases changes to the LEED for Homes certification from the 2008 First Edition but the impact is minor. Most notable is the reduction of the radius for sourcing environmentally prefera-ble products down to 100 miles from the original 500 miles. Construction Waste Management category is also introducing a new calculation metho-dology based on total waste reduction from a baseline. Durability Management strengthens the water management with

a Builder and Rater Water Management Systems Checklist.

Changes in the LEEDv4 Rating Systems for Building Design & Construction (BD&C) and Interior Design & Construc-tion (ID&C), projects include a new pre-requisite for Construction and Demolition Waste Management Planning (MRp2). This requires all projects to develop and im-plement a C&D waste management plan and to provide a final report detailing all major waste streams generated.

Up to two points can be earned for reducing C&D waste within MRc5/6 Construction and Demolition Waste Ma-nagement which includes two options:

1. Diversion (which is most similar to previous LEED versions),

2. Reduction (which focuses on redu-cing the amount of construction waste produced).

LEED V4 - CHANGES ON CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION MANAGEMENT CREDITS