Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.94
Liaison Nathan King
Submission Date Dec. 19, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Virginia Tech
OP-20: Construction and Demolition Waste Diversion

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.79 / 1.00 Dennis Cochrane
Director, Office of Sustainability
Division of Campus Planning, Infrastructure and Facilities
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Construction and demolition materials recycled, donated, or otherwise recovered during the most recent year for which data is available within the previous three years:
2,285.84 Tons

Construction and demolition materials landfilled or incinerated during the most recent year for which data is available within the previous three years:
589.56 Tons

Percentage of construction and demolition materials diverted from the landfill or incinerator through recycling, donation and/or other forms of recovery:
79.50

A brief description of programs, policies, infrastructure investments, outreach efforts, and/or other factors that contributed to the diversion rate for construction and demolition waste:

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


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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)


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)

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.