Green Buildings BC

Dominion supports job site recycling, particularly on projects like this because large volumes of waste were generated. It was a great success, and we will certainly do it again on similar projects.

--Tim Creelman, site superintendent on the Richmond City Hall construction, Dominion Construction, 2000

Regional Justice Center Demolition Recycles 95%, Saves $265,000.

--King County Solid Waste Division, 1997

• Project Waste Management Master Specification
• Demolition & Salvage Guide
• Case Study Factsheets
• Recycling Directories (Local Recycling Depots, Hauling Services, Salvage Contractors, Demolition Contractors)
• Project Deconstruction Master Specification

• Guidelines and tips for construction and demolition waste recycling.
• Mostly oriented to Metro Portland, but much information is useful anywhere.

• The LA SRCRD produces a number of excellent publications on waste management, available for free.
• The following are particularly useful for salvaged material specification in construction and demolition:
• City of Los Angeles Solid Resources Management Specification 1998: A recommended recycling specification for contractors doing demolition, site clearing and construction.
• Wood You Recycle? 1998: A guide to Wood Re-Use and Recycling in the Los Angeles Area, but much information is applicable anywhere.

Soil is currently undervalued as a resource; through both depletion and pollution it is being exploited beyond its capacity for renewal. And yet, healthy productive soils are crucial to the health of the ecosystem. While it takes up to 1000 years to build up several inches of soil, it can build itself up more quickly as its productivity is increased. For example, returning organic waste and landscape debris to the soil can be used to regenerate it more quickly.

--The Sheltair Group, Visions, Tools and Targets, 1998

• The City of Burnaby has information to assist builders including this Waste Management Action Plan developed by CMHC.
• Although its focus is residential building, any of the lessons are transferable.

The roots of trees can hold soils in place better than concrete; unlike concrete, roots do the soil no damage, and they require much less embodied energy. And some kinds of plant, along with their associated microorganisms, can very effectively draw nutrients and even some toxins and heavy metals out of sewage or runoff water. By working with nature in these ways, designing a regenerative water-flow system becomes a matter of providing optimum conditions under which nature can function.

--John Tillman Lyle, Regenerative Design For Sustainable Development, 1994

• Design Stage
• Drainage
• Plant Selection
• Plant Health
• Mulch
• Lawn Maintenance
• Automatic Irrigation Systems
• Integrated Pest Management
• Record Keeping
• Training

• Presents and explains the principles of landscape ecology.
• Provides numerous examples of how those principles can be applied in specific situations.

• An excellent guide to the basics of stormwater infiltration & quality management approaches.
• Applicable to all building sites, not just residential.

• Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook: textbook provides all of the information needed to select and design erosion control measures for construction sites.
• Manual of Standards: Covers control measures for urban or developing areas, with emphasis on control of construction erosion. Includes legal guidelines and technical standards, with sample specifications for controlling water quality impacts.
• Both available from Friends of the San Francisco Estuary website.

• The Liu Centre
• CK Choi Building

• Turnberry town-home: Saved $1,328
• "Quayside Village" co-housing: Saved $245
• "Boulevard Green" town-home: Recycling Cuts Garbage Costs by 10%
• West 3rd Street: 1,110 cu. yds. Recycled at Redevelopment Site