A Review of Construction and Demolition Debris Regulations in the United States

Construction and demolition (C&D) debris comprises a significant portion of the solid waste stream in the United States. Because C&D debris is largely regulated at the state level, the requirements for C&D debris disposal facilities vary from state to state. A review of state regulations was conducted to determine C&D debris disposal facility requirements, including specific requirements for liners, leachate collection, groundwater monitoring, location restrictions, operator training, waste spotters, final cover, financial assurance, and recycling. This review found that little consistency exists in the regulation of C&D debris facilities among states. Twenty-three states require liners, while 27 require groundwater monitoring. Seventeen states reported having regulations pertaining to recycling C&D debris. Several states are currently in the process of reviewing and updating their C&D debris regulations, an indication of the greater recognized importance of this fraction of the solid waste stream.

KEY WORDS:

• C&D debris
• disposal
• landfills
• regulations
• solid waste

The authors acknowledge Joe Aufmuth, Faculty Librarian and GIS Coordinator, and Jones Edmunds and Associates for their assistance in the development of the included maps. The authors thank the solid waste regulatory programs in each state for their participation in the survey and their comments on draft versions of this article.

Notes

^a Certified operator must be present. Operator training is not specifically stated.

^b Leachate monitoring is required. A liner system is not required.

^c C&D debris falls under MSW category.