Virginia Tech
OP-20: Construction and Demolition Waste Diversion

The Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment (VTCAC) point #6 states “Virginia Tech will improve the sustainability of its built environment by achieving LEED Silver certification or better for all eligible and applicable new buildings and major renovations.” See: http://www.it.vpas.vt.edu/docs/sust/op18/PPM262rev1.pdf Maximizing the amount of construction and demolition materials recycled on a construction site provides valuable LEED points. General contractors are maintaining recycling data throughout the duration of the project and provide that information to our project managers on a monthly basis. The VTCAC point #8 states “Virginia Tech will minimize waste and achieve a 50% by 2020.” To the maximum extent possible, construction and demolition materials are captured and reused on campus, recycled, and otherwise kept out of the local landfill. Concrete and masonry block are typically the materials providing the most tonnage. Virginia Tech uses the the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality formula to calculate our recycling and waste diversion rates. In Calendar Year 2016 our final recycling rate was 38 % and our waste diversion rate was 47%. University Policy 5505 “Campus Energy, Water, and Waste Reduction” Revision 3 was approved by the Vice President for Administrative Services on August 31, 2016. See: http://www.policies.vt.edu/5505.pdf Revision 2 was approved on February 28,2011, it added "waste reduction" in the title, and a new section for waste reduction. It tasked the Facilities Department to develop a Comprehensive Waste Management Plan for Virginia Tech (CWMP-VT). The Facilities Department charged the Office of Sustainability to lead the development of the CWMP-VT. The CWMP-VT was adopted July 15, 2011. Section 6.1 states “University Design and Construction requires general contractors to capture and recycle material when possible during new construction and major renovation projects. Tonnage of material recycled is reported on a quarterly basis to the Office of Energy and Sustainability by the University Design and Construction Project Manager.” The Comprehensive Waste Management Plan for Virginia Tech, adopted July 15, 2011: http://facilities.vt.edu/documents/sustainability/unlinked/Comprehensive_Waste_Management_Plan_Virginia_Tech_7_15_2011_Final.pdf

Figures are for Calendar Year 2016. Recycled Materials: 472.64 Tons (New Classroom Building) 1,757.20 Tons (New Cadet Hall) 50.00 Tons (Asphalt) 6.00 Tons (EPDM) 2,285.84 Tons (Total) Landfill Materails: 124.99 Tons (New Classroom Building) 464.57 Tons (New Cadet Hall - Estimate) 589.56 Tons (Total)