Virginia Tech
OP-19: Construction and Demolition Waste Diversion

The Virginia Tech Climate Action Commitment (VTCAC) Resolution point #6 states “Virginia Tech will pursue LEED Silver certification or better for all new buildings and major renovations.” Maximizing the amount of construction and demolition materials recycled on a construction site provides valuable LEED points. General constructions are maintaining recycling data throughout the duration of the project and are providing that information to our project managers on a period basis. In addition, the VTCAC Resolution point #8 states “Virginia Tech will adopt a goal to achieve a 35% recycling rate by 2012 and 50% by 2025.” Using the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality formula, the university achieved a 36.5% recycling rate in calendar year 2009. This surpassed the 35% recycling rate goal three years ahead of schedule. The recycling rates for 2010 and 2011 were 37.5% and 40.1% respectively. Given our increased emphasis on recycling, we expect that positive trend line to continue in the future. To the maximum extent possible, demolition materials at construction sites are captured and reused on campus and kept out of the local landfill. To view the VTCAC Resolution, please see: http://www.facilities.vt.edu/documents/sustainability/climateAction.pdf University Policy 5505 “Campus Energy, Water, and Waste Reduction” Revision 2 was approved by the Vice President for Administrative Services on February 28, 2011. One key feature of this revision was to add a new section for waste reduction and include it in the title. Revision 2 tasked the Facilities Services Department to develop a Comprehensive Waste Management Plan for Virginia Tech (CWMP-VT). To view University Policy 5505 “Campus Energy, Water, and Waste Reduction” please see: http://www.policies.vt.edu/5505.pdf The Facilities Services Department charged the Office of Energy and Sustainability (OES) to lead the development of the CWMP-VT. OES created a Waste Management Task Force which was augmented by stakeholders from campus activities that produce the majority of solid waste. 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.” To view the Comprehensive Waste Management Plan for Virginia Tech, adopted July 15, 2011, please see: http://facilities.vt.edu/documents/sustainability/unlinked/Comprehensive_Waste_Mangement_Plan_Virginia_Tech_7_15_2011_Final.pdf