| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 63.30 |
| Liaison | Nathan King |
| Submission Date | March 19, 2013 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Virginia Tech
OP-19: Construction and Demolition Waste Diversion
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.90 / 1.00 |
Dennis
Cochrane Director, Office of Sustainability Division of Campus Planning, Infrastructure and Facilities |
Amount of construction and demolition materials recycled, donated, or otherwise recovered :
Amount of construction and demolition materials landfilled or incinerated :
A brief description of programs, policies, infrastructure investments, outreach efforts, and/or other factors that contribute to the diversion rate for construction and demolition waste:
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
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.