Oregon State University
OP-24: Construction and Demolition Waste Diversion

The State of Oregon requires all new construction projects at state institutions meet the equivalent of U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standard. Further, all major renovation projects must be built to at least a LEED certified equivalent. A mandatory component of LEED certification is for construction contractors to “provide an accessible area which serves an entire building and is dedicated to separation, collection, and storage of materials for recycling” and to create a construction waste management plan, with targets for recycled and reclaimed materials. To receive full points in the Construction Waste Management section of LEED, a waste management plan must be developed to quantify material diverted away from the landfill. To receive one point in this area, 50% of all construction, demolition, and land clearing waste must be recycled and/or salvaged. To receive two points, an additional 25% of construction materials must be recycled and/or salvaged. All capital construction and major renovation projects at OSU which were surveyed for this report diverted at least 50% of their waste from the landfill. OSU goes beyond LEED standards on most construction projects. OSU Construction Standards emphasize environmental best practices throughout a construction project, from design to waste reduction and diversion. These same standards are applied to small projects that don’t follow LEED guidelines as well as large projects that do. For College of Ag Sciences projects and facilities, the common in-house design practice is to lay out projects utilizing standard material sizing in an effort to reduce on-site modifications which results in a lower volume of waste and reduces the overall labor costs.