Criterion Details
PD-29 Construction Waste Management
Download as pdf
Project Development Scorecard
Goal
Utilize a management plan for road construction waste materials to minimize the amount of construction-related waste destined for landfill.
Sustainability Linkage
Managing construction waste supports the environmental and economic principles of the triple bottom line by reducing landfill waste and by encouraging recycling and reuse of construction materials, thereby decreasing raw material consumption.
Background & Scoring Requirements
Background
Construction and demolition waste constitutes any material that must be hauled off-site for disposal or reprocessing, or, if disposed (stockpiled) within the project right-of-way (ROW), is not intended for use as structural material (e.g., pavements, embankments, shoulders, base materials, and fill). Materials that leave the ROW for reprocessing (recycling) activities to return later for use on within the project boundaries are not considered C&D waste. Typical C&D waste for roadway construction projects may include, but is not limited to, any of the following:
- Paving (e.g., asphalt, concrete)
- Milling , concrete slough and grindings, cobble
- Metals (e.g., waste steel rebar, metal guardrails, pipes, luminaires, signs, aluminum, and various household metals)
- Plastic (e.g., waste plastic pipes)
- Excavated soil cuttings and boulders
- Sediment removed from temporary construction settling ponds
- Land clearing debris or excess topsoil
- Hazardous materials including liquids
- Wood and paper products (e.g., packaging materials, copier paper, paper products, cardboard, and pallets)
- Glass
- Household trash or compostables (including recyclable materials generated from mobile office)
- Packaging
The CWMP is typically completed by the prime contractor, submitted to the owner agency for approval, and implemented by all parties on the construction site. The CWMP need only apply to wastes generated during the project construction phase.
Scoring Requirements
Requirement PD-29.1
1 Point. Construction and Demolition Waste Management Plan
The Owner shall require the Contractor to establish, implement, and maintain a formal Construction and Demolition Waste Management Plan (CWMP) during roadway construction, or its functional equivalent. The Contract Documents should include a requirement for a CWMP that contains, at minimum, the following information:
- Type of construction and demolition waste expected (C&D waste)
- Expected (or actual) tonnage
- Goal for percentage of waste diverted from landfills
- Contact information of responsible party for hauling
- Destination of waste (e.g., recycling facility, landfill, contractor’s backyard)
- Contact information of responsible party at disposal site
- Strategy for waste generated from mobile office activities and personal worker (household) waste
- Opportunities for recycling of construction waste materials.
Requirement PD-29.2
1-2 Points. Divert Waste from Landfills
The Contractor demonstrates that a percentage of the construction waste, including the materials listed above, has been diverted from landfills. The percentage diverted should be calculated by weight. One of the following scores applies:
- 1 point. Divert at least 50 percent of the construction waste from landfills,
- 2 points. Divert at least 75 percent of the construction waste from landfills.
Requirement PD-29.3
1 point. Haul Excess Materials Directly to other Projects for Recycling
Reduce lifecycle transport costs and impacts by coordinating and transporting suitable excess excavated material that cannot be used within the project limits to offsite projects where it will be reused. Only projects that transport materials directly to specific project sites are eligible for this credit, non -specific stockpiling sites for future recycling are excluded.
Resources
None referenced.
Case Studies & Criterion Examples
Arizona DOT - Roundabouts and Local Partnerships: The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) used all three INVEST modules to validate strategic directions, increase knowledge across core functions, and advance a decision-making framework around sustainability best practices. This case study focuses on ADOT’s use of the Project Development module to score and improve the sustainability of twenty roundabout construction projects as well as ADOT’s use of INVEST training workshops to facilitate collaboration internally and with local governments. Roundabouts have seen increased application across the United States and in Arizona due to their safety and congestion reduction benefits. Using INVEST, ADOT scored twenty planned or under construction roundabouts. ADOT found the scoring process helpful both in improving the sustainability of the individual roundabout projects and in understanding the sustainability of the state’s roundabout program as a whole.
Western Federal Lands - Annual Sustainability Award Process Utilizes INVEST: The Western Federal Lands Highway Division (WFL) within the Federal Highway Administration uses the INVEST Project Development (PD) module to score, rank, and select the recipient of its Annual Sustainability Award. Starting in 2012, WFL instituted an Annual Sustainability Award to better market and showcase WFL sustainability efforts. During the first year, WFL compiled a list of 17 eligible (under-construction or recently constructed) projects including new construction and rehabilitation projects. As part of the scoring process, WFL met with each of the project managers to discuss the scope of the projects and identify sustainability features. After some projects were removed from the list due to their lack of sustainability elements, WFL staff evaluated the remainder of the projects using the Rural Extended Scorecard for the INVEST PD module.
Arizona DOT - Using INVEST to Integrate Sustainability: The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) decided to use all three modules of INVEST – System Planning, Project Development, and Operations and Maintenance – to help the agency meet its sustainability goals across the transportation life cycle. ADOT used INVEST to integrate and advance existing sustainability efforts and to push forward new efforts. INVEST’s comprehensive sustainability framework and criteria helped ADOT institutionalize sustainability across the agency and with local partners through inclusion in manuals, trainings, and awards. This case study focuses on ADOT’s use of the Project Development module.
Ohio DOT - George V. Voinovich Bridge/Cleveland Innerbelt Corridor : When building the largest bridge project in its history, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) turned to INVEST to make sure they made this massive project as sustainable as possible. ODOT replaced the Cleveland Innerbelt Bridge on I-90, now called the George V. Voinovich Bridge in two phases – the first was construction of the westbound bridge, completed in 2013; the second phase, design and construction of the eastbound bridge, began in 2014 and finished in 2017. ODOT used FHWA’s sustainability self-assessment tool, INVEST, to score the first phase to see if the project was meeting its goals. ODOT found the process so valuable that for the second phase of the project they included sustainability, as measured by INVEST, as one of the criteria for scoring contractor proposals for the design-build contract. This provided a strong incentive for bidders to incorporate sustainability while keeping costs competitive. In fact, the winning bidder committed to an “INVEST Platinum” level of sustainability with a bid $19 million below the ODOT engineer’s estimate.
Scoring Sources
The project is considered to have met this criterion if the requirements above can be reasonably substantiated through the existence of one or more of the following documentation sources (or equal where not available):
- Contract Document requiring contractor to establish and implement a project-specific CWMP or its functional equivalent.
- Documentation showing the construction materials were diverted from landfills. This should include trucking tickets with weights, destinations, and materials, and calculations of percentages diverted from landfills.
