1995 Legislative Session: 4th Session, 35th Parliament
FIRST READING
The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
MR. DAVID SCHRECK
1 In this Act,
"Minister" means the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks.
"project" means a project consisting of the construction or demolition of one or more provincial buildings
"provincial building" means a work constructed or demolished by or for the British Columbia Building Corporation (BCBC) with total floor space greater than 2,000 square metres.
"waste" means refuse which originated from construction or demolition sources of any provincial building.
2 The purpose of this Act is to apply the principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle to the construction or demolition of provincial buildings by requiring a Waste Reduction Program for all construction or demolition projects for provincial buildings.
3 (1) Every construction or demolition project pertaining to provincial buildings shall have a Waste Reduction Program which consists of:
(a) a waste audit;
(b) a waste reduction work plan; and
(c) a source separation program.
(2) The contractor shall be responsible for developing and implementing the Waste Reduction Program.
(3) The report of the Waste Reduction Program shall be approved by the Minister before work begins at the site.
4 (1) The contractor shall conduct a waste audit covering the waste that will be generated in any construction or demolition project of a provincial building.
(2) A waste audit required under this Act shall address:
(a) the amount, nature and composition of the waste;
(b) how the waste is produced, including management decisions and policies that relate to the production of waste;
(c) how the waste is managed;
(d) for a construction project, the extent to which materials or products used by the builder consist of recycled or reused materials or products; and
(e) any other items required in regulations.
(3) After conducting the waste audit, the contractor shall prepare a written report of the audit in a form satisfactory to the Minister.
5 (1) Before work commences at the site, the contractor shall prepare a written waste reduction work plan, based on the waste audit.
(2) A waste reduction work plan required under this Act shall include, to the extent that is reasonable:
(a) plans to reduce, reuse and recycle waste generated in the construction or destruction project;
(b) provisions for who will implement each part of the plan;
(c) provisions for when each part will be implemented;
(d) the expected results; and
(e) measures for communicating the plan to the workers at the construction or demolition site, which require, at a minimum:
(i) that the plan or a summary be posted at the site in a place where most of the workers will see it; and
(ii) if a summary is posted, that any worker who requests to look at the plan be allowed to do so.
(3) The report of the waste reduction work plan must be retained on file for at least five years.
6 (1) The builder shall implement a source separation program for the waste that will be generated in the construction or demolition of the structure or shall ensure that such a program is implemented.
(2) A source separation program required under this Act shall include but is not limited to:
(a) the provision of facilities for the collection, handling and storage of source separated wastes adequate for the quantities of anticipated wastes;
(b) measures to ensure that the source separated wastes that are collected are removed;
(c) the provision of information to users and potential users of the program,
(i) describing the performance of the program,
(ii) encouraging effective source separation of waste and full use of the program; and
(d) reasonable efforts to ensure that full use is made of the program and that the separated waste is reused or recycled, including, if practicable, pre-demolition sales and the circulation of the waste audit to prospective materials purchasers.
(3) The source separation program shall be implemented before work begins at the site.
(4) Waste that is to be source separated according to the provisions of this section is outlined in Schedule 1.
7 (1) Upon completion of the construction of a provincial building, the general contractor shall file all building plans, including a materials schedule, with the building owner.
(2) The materials schedule required under subsection (1) shall include a description of the quantity and type of materials involved in the construction of the provincial building.
(3) The building owner shall retain the building plans until the building is demolished.
(4) The building owner shall make the building plans available to any contractor who secures a contract for demolition of the building.
8 The Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks shall be responsible for the administration of this Act.
9 The Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council may make regulations.
10 This Act comes into force by proclamation of the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council.
SCHEDULE 1
Waste categories to be source separated for construction projects:
1. Brick and Portland cement concrete;
2. Corrugated cardboard;
3. Unpainted drywall;
4. Steel;
5. Wood (not including painted, treated or laminated wood).
Waste categories to be source separated for demolition projects:
1. Brick and Portland cement concrete;
2. Steel;
3. Wood (not including painted, treated or laminated wood).
This Bill takes steps to apply conservation principles -- reduce, recycle and reuse -- to the construction or demolition of buildings owned by the British Columbia Building Corporation (BCBC).
Construction and demolition waste has been indicated as the largest solid waste stream component in landfill sites. The Greater Vancouver Regional District estimates almost 36% of all landfill solid waste is construction and demolition material, and the Capital Regional District reports a figure of 13% of total waste. The Provincial government has set a target that would see municipal solid waste reduced by 50% per capita by the year 2000 (using1990 as the base year).
This Bill promotes waste reduction by requiring every project involving the construction or demolition of provincial buildings larger than 2,000 square metres to implement a Waste Reduction Program. This Program includes a waste audit, to identify the amount and type of waste to be generated; a waste reduction work plan, to identify measures to reduce the amount of waste and methods of implementing those measures; and a source separation program, to separate and properly dispose of waste generated by the construction or demolition project.
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