Assessing the potential for extended producer responsibility in construction, renovation and demolition waste in Metro Vancouver

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is recognized by the Government of British Columbia, Metro Vancouver, and Metro municipalities like the City of Vancouver as a waste diversion strategy through economic stimulation of the market for recycled materials. As an environmental policy, EPR ensures producers and consumers are physically and financially responsible for post-consumer management of their products in an environmentally safe manner. Successful EPR programs shift the expenses associated with product end-of-life management from governments and taxpayers to producers and consumers, as well as reduces the amount of waste generated from going to landfills and waste-to-energy facilities. Currently, the Province, Metro Vancouver and City of Vancouver are actively supporting and focusing on the establishment of EPR programs for a variety of materials as a waste management solution. Metro Vancouver’s plan is to achieve a large reduction in waste reaching landfills and waste-to-energy facilities through improving the overall diversion/recycling rate from 55% to 70% for 2015, and up to 80% by 2020. Currently, the demolition, land-clearing, and construction waste sector generates the most waste out of all the sectors, contributing an estimated 1.3 million tonnes of waste materials annually. Metro Vancouver has recognized the large potential for waste reduction and diversion in this sector and thus, a specific target of 80% diversion of waste material from the demolition, land clearing, and construction sector within the overall 70% diversion goal for 2015 has been set in place. Under the Canada-wide Action Plan for EPR, published by the Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment in October 2009, the Province has committed to developing EPR programs for construction, renovation and demolition materials by 2017. This research project aims to help progress EPR programs for building materials by identifying a list of building materials in which an EPR program would have long term viability. It is hoped that results from this project will significantly contribute to the establishment of successful provincial EPR programs for building materials. Municipalities like the City of Vancouver can utilize it to become a zero-waste city, achieve overall regional waste diversion goals for Metro Vancouver, and guide the province to achieve the interim targets and overall target from the CCME Canada-Wide Action Plan. To determine the list of building materials for our analysis, a review of Market Analysis of Used Building Materials by Kane Consulting et al. (2012) was done. From a comprehensive list of building materials currently sent to landfills and the waste-to-energy facility, the list was narrowed down to nine candidate materials for further evaluation of EPR potential: asphalt shingles, carpet, ceramic tiles, concrete, gypsum drywall, miscellaneous metal products, sheet plastic, miscellaneous glass building products, and wood waste. A modified version of the EPR Evaluation Tool developed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment was used to prioritize a list of candidate materials based on their suitability for EPR. Using this evaluation matrix, candidate materials were assessed over four broad categories: Environmental Impacts, Suitability for Extended Producer Responsibility, Political Interest, and Industry Readiness. Scoring was based on information sourced from literature, Metro Vancouver waste management staff, municipal recycling coordinators and construction and demolition waste professionals. The raw scores represent the unweighted outcome of the evaluation process. Weighting was adjusted to reflect the varying degrees of importance of each category and subcategory. For the purposes of this study, four sensitivity analyses were conducted based on discussions with City of Vancouver waste management staff with weighted emphasis on one evaluation category at a time. Table E-1 summarizes the results from the raw score evaluation for the nine candidate materials, and compares these to the results of the four sensitivity analyses. Based on our comprehensive analyses, and taking the raw scores and sensitivity analyses into account, we recommend EPR for asphalt shingles, carpet, sheet plastic, and wood waste in British Columbia. Furthermore, by emphasizing different criteria, the highest priority material varies. For example, emphasizing the implications of Environmental Impacts and strong political support on the waste diversion strategy of such materials in Metro Vancouver, wood waste should be prioritized. In comparison, in the case of implementing a better waste management in the form of EPR, carpet ranked first. Finally, in terms of industry readiness when it comes to initiating and establishing an EPR program, gypsum drywall came first. [Table E-1. Summary of raw score and sensitivity analyses appears here in the PDF file] This research project sourced best available information from literature research (e.g. case studies, annual waste flow reports waste composition studies, etc.) and interviews and 5 personal communication with industry professionals and local government staff. With this study, we have compiled a list that will enable the Ministry of Environment, Metro Vancouver and City of Vancouver to identify the current status of potential products for EPR, and have included a comprehensive list of recommendations and next steps for waste management within the demolition and construction sector.Science, Faculty ofEarth and Ocean Sciences, Department ofUnreviewedUndergraduat