MADISON (WKOW) -- Beginning January 1, 2010, any state building construction or demolition project with a cost of at least $5 million must recycle any debris that's generated.
The Department of Natural resources made the announcement after a trial period earlier this year where a number of state buildings were constructed with a recycling rate near 90-percent of better.
The DNR earlier teamed up with the Department of Administration's Division of State Facilities. In 2007, they teamed up with a non-profit group called WasteCap Resources. The goal of the effort was to train staff and develop standards to increase C/D recycling, which can decrease waste disposal costs, conserve landfill space, and reduce energy emissions.
Nationally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 170 million tons of this debris are created each year. In Wisconsin in 2002, a DNR study found that construction waste accounts for about 30-percent of municipal solid waste. Some of the biggest culprits were untreated wood and shingles.
Of the recent state buildings that managed high debris recycling rates:
- UW-Madison Biochemistry, Phase II (99.12-percent diverted)
- UW-Stevens Point Baldwin Hall Renovation (90.65-percent diverted)
- UW-Superior Rothwell Student Center Replacement (95.75-percent diverted)
- UW-Whitewater Hyland Hall Demolition (97.65-percent diverted)
