Mass. Ban on C&D Material Set to be Implemented

The long-awaited Massachusetts ban on disposal, or transfer for disposal, of specific construction and demolition materials will probably be promulgated by the end of September or the first week in October, according to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). It will take effect nine months from the date of its promulgation.

The wording of the ban, which will require all asphalt pavement, brick, concrete, wood, metals and OCC from construction and demolition activities to be diverted from disposal and pass through a recycling center, is generally the same as the final version worked out by the DEP and various stakeholders in the issue, according to Ed Coletta, spokesperson for DEP. Those stakeholders included regulators, haulers, recyclers, environmental groups, architects/engineers, contractors, landfill owners, transfer station owners, trade associations, building owners, consultant, law firms, and municipalities. “We worked with so many stakeholders to develop a program that everyone could live with,” says Coletta. “We tried to listen to all the groups to address all the concerns.”

The stakeholders participated in numerous DEP C&D Subcommittee meetings since 2001 and recommended to the DEP a phase-in ban on the disposal of asphalt pavement, brick, concrete, metal and wood. One of the factors in targeting these specific materials was a determination that recycling and reuse markets exist for each of them, according to James McQuade, regional planner for DEP who oversaw the development of the ban. He added that since the C&D Subcommittee’s recommendation to ban the disposal of these materials several businesses have expressed interest in establishing additional facilities to recycle and/or reuse these materials, further enhancing the recycling and reuse markets.

“The challenge will be in adding additional C&D materials such as gypsum wallboard, asphalt shingles, carpet, and ceiling tiles in the future,” says McQuade. “It is anticipated the C&D reuse and recycling market infrastructure for these materials will be enhanced as the C&D Subcommittee and other stakeholders continue to divert more C&D material from disposal, allowing Massachusetts to reach its Solid Waste Master Plan goal of 88 percent non municipal solid waste reduction in 2010.”

William Turley, executive director of the Construction Materials Recycling Association, says, “DEP is to be applauded on two fronts here. First, for including industry in the development of the ban. So many states do regulations like this unilaterally without industry input, before getting all the facts. Second, this will promote C&D recycling in a state that has a solid infrastructure to make sure this ban works.”

Many other states have expressed an interest in how DEP developed the ban and in doing something similar in their areas. But, Turley says, New England in general and Massachusetts in particular are fortunate to have the C&D recycling plants there to process the materials into products.