Article 8

Construction and Demolition Debris Recycling and Disposal

Construction and demolition waste or C&D waste. A solid waste that is a portion of the municipal waste stream defined as:

1. Discarded materials generally considered to be water insoluble and non-hazardous in nature including, but not limited to, asphalt, brick, concrete, glass, gravel, gypsum, masonry, metal, pipe, rock, sand, slate, soil, steel, stone, wallboard, or otherwise inert material from the construction or demolition of a structure as part of a construction and/or demolition project or from the renovation of a structure and/or landscaping, and including rocks, soils, trees, brush, and other vegetative matter that normally results from land clearing, landscaping and development operations for a construction project.

2. Clean cardboard, construction paper, plastics (including, but not limited to, sheeting, molding, and shrink wrap), wood, lighting and piping fixtures, and metal scraps from any construction and/or demolition project.

3. Plant materials resulting from construction work when commingled with dirt, rock, and other inert materials.

4. De-minimus amounts of other non-hazardous wastes that are generated at construction and demolition projects provided such amounts are consistent with best management practices of the industry.

Construction work. Construction, remodeling, repair, demolition or deconstruction of building, other structures, roads, parking lots and similarly paved or covered surfaces.

Contractor. Any person or entity holding or required to hold a contractor's license of any type under the laws of the State of California or who performs, whether as a contractor, subcontractor, or building owner, any construction, demolition, remodeling, or landscaping service relating to building or accessory structures in Paramount.

Diversion. A reduction in the amount of waste being disposed in landfill by any of the following methods:

1. Use of new construction method(s) as described by the City that reduces the amount of waste generated (i.e., green building).

• On-site reuse of waste.

3. Delivery of waste from the site to a recycling center or salvage or reclamation facility.

4. Other methods as approved by the City.

Good faith effort. The documented efforts of a franchisee, firm, person, or entity to meet its requirements to divert waste from disposal to the maximum extent practicable as stipulated by its City-approved permit, franchise, plan or other approved mechanism. In some extreme cases, circumstances can limit or impede diversion including, but are not limited to, the lack of a market (e.g., a business or agency) that accepts specific C&D materials (e.g., roofing materials, laminate products, etc.), the physical condition of the materials (e.g., from a burned structure or insect infestation) that precludes its reuse or recycling, or other condition or circumstance (e.g., public

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City of Paramount, CA § 13.20.770

PUBLIC SERVICES

§ 13.20.780

emergency) that the City can consider on a case-by-case basis. (Prior code § 33-79)

• A. 50% Waste Diversion Standard for C&D Projects. All construction and demolition projects are required to achieve the maximum feasible diversion but not less than the waste diversion performance standard of 50% of the total wastes generated. Waste diversion is calculated by dividing the total weight of waste diverted by the total weight of waste generated, where waste generated equals the weight of waste diverted added to the weight of waste disposed. Documentation of waste diversion, disposed and generated must be based solely upon weight receipts or other documentation as approved by the City and based on approved guidelines or protocol of the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Each construction and demolition project for which a building and/or demolition permit is applied for and approved must achieve the waste diversion performance standard or show a good faith effort to achieve that standard.

  1. Exemptions. The following categories of building and demolition projects are categorically exempted from the deposit, fee, and reporting requirements of this section (any one or more categories):

     • a. Residential single-family homes up to two units that are not part of a greater planned development.

     • b. All construction projects of less than or equal to $100,000.00 in value.

     • c. All construction projects of less than 1,000 square feet.

     • d. Work for which only a plumbing, electrical, or mechanical permit is required.

     • e. Work for which hazardous or toxic materials are treated or removed.

• B. Diversion Deposit Requirement. As a condition precedent to issuance of any permit for construction or demolition that involves the production of solid waste, the applicant shall post a deposit as set forth in Section 13.20.790, except where the applicant is utilizing the services of the City's franchised waste hauler for the removal and disposal of solid waste, in which case no deposit is required. The deposit is refundable in whole if the 50% minimum diversion requirement is fulfilled, or partially if the 50% diversion requirement is fulfilled in part, or a good faith effort to comply is documented, or the City exempts the project from this requirement based on extenuating circumstances, infeasibility, or emergency. The City shall be the sole authority to determine the extent of refund based on the following criteria:

  1. A full refund based on a deposit erroneously paid or collected.

  2. A full refund when a building permit is withdrawn or cancelled before any work has begun.

  3. A full refund when at least 50% by weight of the waste generated by the project was diverted from disposal.

  4. A partial refund when less than 50% by weight of the waste generated was diverted from disposal, pro rated on the basis of the percent of diversion attained, and only if a

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City of Paramount, CA § 13.20.780

PARAMOUNT CODE

§ 13.20.790

good faith effort as defined has been documented.

5. In the case of less than 50% diversion, a full refund can only be obtained if the applicant is able to demonstrate that conditions or circumstances as identified under "Definitions" prevented the applicant from diverting waste from landfilling. In such cases, the applicant must undertake green building techniques (see paragraph 8 below) or other actions to prevent future wasting or minimize waste.

   6. No refund in whole or part shall be authorized unless the original building permit applicant provides documentation satisfactory to the City in support of the request.

   7. An applicant may "bank" any diversion in excess of 50% and apply said diversion to any future C&D project that does not achieve 50% diversion so long as the diversion banking does not exceed more than two years.

   8. An applicant may utilize "green building" techniques to offset the diversion requirements based on LEED©2006 (i.e., U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system for green building requirements), with the diversion offset linked to Platinum level certification.

• C. Requirement for Collection and Processing of C&D Wastes. All construction and demolition wastes as defined by this article that result from construction and demolition work must be collected by:

  1. A solid waste collection franchisee duly authorized by the City of Paramount.

  2. A recycling facility listed in the approved list of recyclers as provided by the City. No C&D wastes can be carted by a non-franchised firm unless the materials carted are recyclable solid waste as defined by this chapter, and collected and disposed without fee, or sold or donated by the owner/occupant as regulated under Section 13.20.090. C&D wastes must be taken to an approved C&D processing facility as determined by the City and published in the City's official C&D waste recycling guide.

  3. A general contractor who obtains permits from the City with the intent to self-haul or to hire a separate subcontractor who will perform the construction and/or demolition work and self-haul the C&D wastes. For a construction and demolition project in which a deposit has been given to the City as set forth in Section 13.20.790, the City may, at its discretion, authorize the general contractor or hired subcontractor to utilize its own vehicles to haul the resulting debris away from the job site. The general contractor or hired subcontractor shall provide proof of vehicle ownership to City officials upon request. The general contractor shall be subject to all of the reporting requirements as set forth in Section 13.20.800. All construction and demolition debris must be taken to an approved C&D processing facility as determined by the City and published in the City's official C&D waste recycling guide. The City's solid waste collection franchisee agrees to comply with this exemption.

(Prior code § 33-80)

For regulated C&D projects, upon approval of the C&D Waste Diversion Plan and prior to issuance of any permit, the contractor shall deposit the lesser of three percent of the total project cost or $10,000.00. The deposit shall be in cash, check, performance bond, cash, or bond, or

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City of Paramount, CA § 13.20.790 PUBLIC SERVICES

§ 13.20.820

credit card, payable to the City of Paramount. (Prior code § 33-81)

• A. C&D Waste Diversion Plan. Contractors are required to prepare and follow a C&D waste diversion plan that identifies the activities to be conducted during the course of the construction and/or demolition project to assure conformance with the City's requirement that 50% of regulated C&D waste must be diverted. The plan shall include, but is not limited to, a description of the following aspects: (1) targeted materials including special wastes for diversion; (2) diversion methods; (3) reporting methodology; and (4) employee training in the event that diversion methods are inadequate or infeasible for implementation. The C&D waste diversion plan shall be prepared and submitted to the City for review and approval with the building and/or demolition permit application. The Contractor shall follow this plan and its activities are subject to City inspection for verification.

• B. C&D Waste Diversion Report. Contractors are required to prepare and submit a C&D waste diversion report within 30 days of completion of the project to the City for review and approval. This report shall contain information documenting the good faith effort of the contractor to meet the C&D waste diversion plan, and demonstrating conformance with the 50% diversion requirement. The report shall contain as a minimum a completed "waste diversion report form," originals or copies of all weight tickets or receipts documenting both disposal and diversion, and any other information attesting to or verifying the implementation of diversion activities.

(Prior code § 33-82)

The franchised solid waste collection company must achieve the 50% diversion goal for any applicable City-sponsored project or regulated project for which the franchisee collects and hauls waste.

(Prior code § 33-83)

Funds received by the City as diversion deposits shall be used only for:

• A. Payment of diversion deposit refunds.

• B. Cost of administration of the program established by this article.

• C. Cost of programs whose purpose is to divert C&D wastes from landfill disposal.

• D. Cost of programs whose purpose is to develop or improve the infrastructure needed to divert C&D wastes from landfill disposal.

(Prior code § 33-84)

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City of Paramount, CA