Why is developing the Demolition Waste Diversion Bylaw important?

In 2021, Council endorsed the Zero Waste Action Plan with the overall goal of achieving an 80% waste diversion rate in Whistler. The Plan identified eight priority actions, with the seventh and eighth priority actions focused on developing guidelines and recycling requirements for construction and demolition waste.

Proposed Approach

The proposed bylaw is designed to increase the amount of demolition waste diverted away from the landfill and encourage recycling and material salvage (reuse) where possible. This will be accomplished through the inclusion of a refundable deposit and a diversion reporting system added to the demolition permit process.

Recycling means items that can be recovered from the waste stream and turned into new products, for example using recycled drywall to recover the gypsum. Reuse means further and repeated use of building materials as building materials, for example reusing the recovered lumber from a demolished structure.

The demolition permit process will require a Diversion Deposit, refundable when diversion requirements are met, to be paid at the time of the application for a demolition permit.

In alignment with the Zero Waste Action Plan, the diversion requirement is recommended to be set at 80% diversion of waste material by weight. Staff propose this high diversion percentage as many projects will reach a lower diversion rate by only diverting concrete. Most demolition jobs will easily achieve the 80% diversion by weight by diverting concrete, wood, metal and drywall.

To encourage material reuse where appropriate, materials that are effectively separated for reuse, instead of recycled, will be given twice the diversion value. For example, if one tonne of wood is reused instead of recycled, it will be worth two tonnes in the calculations. This is consistent with the Zero Waste hierarchy in the Zero Waste Action Plan, which prioritizes reuse over recycling.

Once the Building Department is satisfied the demolition is complete, contractors will have 90 days to submit their diversion report to the RMOW. If the demolition meets the diversion target of 80%, the contractor will have their entire Diversion Deposit refunded. If they meet a lower diversion rate, their Diversion Deposit will be refunded based on a sliding scale. Projects that divert less than 40% of material will not receive any of their Diversion Deposit back.

Refunds will be calculated as follows:

Refund = ((2.5 x Diversion Percent)-1) x Diversion Deposit

Example: Using a Diversion Deposit of $5,000, if a project has a 70 percent diversion rate, they would have a $3,750 refund as shown by:

3,750 = ((2.5 x 0.7)-1) x 5000

The bylaw is proposed to have exemptions where salvage would be unsafe due to fire or water damage.