Characterization and Management of Construction and Demolition Waste in Canada

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
The Crown has determined that any intellectual property arising from the performance of the Work under the Contract will vest in Canada, on the following grounds: 

6.4  Where the main purpose of the Crown Procurement Contract, or of the deliverables contracted for, is:

6.4.1  To generate knowledge and information for public dissemination.

PURPOSE
The overarching purpose of this work is to gather, consolidate data and provide an analysis of current information concerning the characterization and management of construction, renovation and demolition waste (i.e. C&D waste) in Canada.  

C&D waste represents a significant portion of solid waste generated in Canada and it contains substances of interest to the Government of Canada under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and Chemicals Management Plan, which can pose risks to human health and the environment if improperly managed. There is a need to consolidate what is known about this waste stream and the industries that contribute to its generation in Canada and undertake a more in-depth analysis of C&D waste to better understand the sources of pollution and identify the opportunities and barriers for prevention. Among other things, this work will quantify C&D waste that is currently generated, recovered, and disposed across the country and identify recycling and disposal methods and facilities by province/territory. 

This work will support efforts of the Department by improving knowledge of: (1) linkages between C&D waste and substances of interest, (2) current management approaches and best practices for these wastes, (3) Canada’s infrastructure and existing secondary markets for C&D waste materials, (4) opportunities for improvement that may exist to support the environmentally sound management of C&D waste, and (5) enhanced resource recovery and economic growth through the creation of green jobs.  This work will also better position the Government of Canada to inform and participate in anticipated and emerging domestic and international activities (e.g. under the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).  

 

BACKGROUND
The term C&D waste refers to a waste stream derived from construction, renovation and demolition activities.  It is composed of several types of materials such as glass, corrugated cardboard, plastic, metals, wood, aggregates and other materials (e.g. asphalt roofing products, gypsum/drywall, fiberglass, masonry and tile, co-mingled soil, stumps and brush, porcelain fixtures, arborite, textiles, rubber, asbestos, lath and plaster, etc.).  Although construction waste and demolition waste may consist of similar material streams, they emerge from very different processes.  

Construction waste refers to wastes and material remnants (e.g. trim scraps) that are derived from the process of building new structures and is often generated in a progressive fashion as single-material waste streams.  Demolition waste refers to wastes and material debris that are derived from the process of demolishing existing structures and is often generated in a simultaneous fashion as commingled multi-material waste streams.  By comparison, demolition waste generally contains much more concrete and can consist of 20 to 30 times more waste on a per building basis.  Renovation waste is generally a hybrid of construction waste and demolition waste and is derived from undertaking improvements and repairs to existing structures.

A significant amount of the solid waste sent to Canadian non-hazardous landfills is comprised of C&D waste.  Statistics Canada reported that C&D waste (excluding asphalt, concrete and rubble) accounted for 12% (i.e. 2,816,528 tonnes) of non-hazardous waste disposed in Canada in 2002.  In this same year, only 16% (i.e. 536,345 tonnes) of C&D waste generated was recycled.  While these figures are somewhat dated, they currently reflect the most complete national picture available.  Like other wastes, C&D waste generation is influenced by a number of factors including economic conditions and growth levels, market conditions, population size and density, relevant laws, source reduction initiatives, geographic location, and climatic conditions.  

Several materials found in C&D waste are linked to substances of interest interest to the Government of Canada under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and Chemicals Management Plan, the international community (e.g. Basel Convention, Stockholm Convention, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), and other stakeholders.  These substances include asbestos, flame retardants, cadmium, wood preservatives, lead, and phthalates (see Annex A for other examples).  Several materials are also considered to be readily recyclable (e.g. metal, wood, corrugated cardboard, glass, plastics, brick, tile) and opportunities may exist to further divert these materials from final disposal to support waste diversion through enhanced resource recovery.  Other ancillary benefits include reductions for greenhouse gas emissions, and conservation efforts for natural resources.

Nationally, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) has already expressed interest with respect to the improved management of C&D waste. Specifically, the CCME Canada-wide Action Plan on Extended Producer Responsibility commits jurisdictions to working towards incorporating construction and demolition materials into operational programs by 2017.  

 

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this work is to prepare a C&D waste foundation report that provides current and comprehensive information concerning the characterization and management of each of the following waste streams in Canada:  (1) construction waste; (2) renovation waste; and (3) demolition waste.

Characterization will involve describing each of these C&D waste streams; such as: quantities, compositions and attributes of materials and substances of interest (see Annex A); and potential risks that these wastes and materials may pose to human health and the environment.  

Management will involve describing current approaches for managing C&D waste and materials, such as:  policies, programs, standards and best practices; how C&D waste and materials are collected, recovered and disposed along with their associated management costs; existing infrastructure and facilities to recover and dispose C&D waste including processing constraints and capacity limitations; existing markets and end uses for recovered C&D materials; recommendations and opportunities for mitigating risk and enhancing resource recovery; and identifying key stakeholder organizations regarding the management of C&D waste.

The primary audience for this document is decision-makers within various levels of Canadian government including federal, provincial/territorial, and regional/municipal government.  This document will also provide information that may prove useful to other stakeholder organizations, including construction and demolition industries, industry trade associations, environmental non-government organizations, and academia.

The report must be easy to understand while conveying technical and other issues that need to be addressed in sufficient detail to be of value to the target audience. 


STATEMENT OF WORK

The Contractor must prepare a single report that reflects the purpose and objective for this work, which includes the following activities:

CHARACTERIZATION:

1.	Identify and describe the different types of products and materials found in:  (1) construction waste, (2) renovation waste and (3) demolition waste, including the percent composition of materials that are contained within each of these waste streams.
2.	Validate the presence of and describe substances of interest listed in Annex A (and up to 5 other substances to be selected by the project authority based on advice provided by the Contractor) that are linked to the different types of products and materials found in:  (1) construction waste, (2) renovation waste and (3) demolition waste.  This includes identifying the quantities, relative composition and presence of substances of interest in construction materials found in the Canadian marketplace (from literature review) and describing potential risks and problems that these substances may pose to the environment and human health if improperly managed.  For the purposes of this work these substances shall include substances of interest to the Government of Canada under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and Chemicals Management Plan, the international community (e.g. Basel Convention, Stockholm Convention, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), and other stakeholders. 
3.	Estimate quantities of  (1) construction waste, (2) renovation waste and (3) demolition waste materials that are reused, recycled and disposed in Canada and by province and territory.  This includes providing a breakdown of estimated quantities for each type of material found in each of these three waste streams (from activity 1 of the characterization), and providing a description of the methodology, sources of data and limitations of analysis (e.g. assumptions, margin of error).  
4.	Compare quantities of C&D waste (from activity 3 of the characterization) with relevant and available data sources from other OECD countries (e.g. USA, Europe, and Australia).
MANAGEMENT:

5.	Identify and briefly describe documented environmental and health-related issues that pertain to the management of:  (1) construction waste, (2) renovation waste and (3) demolition waste in Canada. 
6.	Identify and describe current approaches and processes to collect, reuse, recycle and dispose products/materials (i.e. at least five, selected with confirmation of project authority) that contain significant amounts of substances of interest (from activity 2 of the characterization) and are found in: (1) construction waste, (2) renovation waste and (3) demolition waste, along with cost, operational challenges and other considerations for each.
7.	Identify and describe Canada’s existing facility infrastructure to recycle and dispose C&D waste and material streams, including processing constraints, capacity limitations and any potential gaps that may exist.  This work will include identifying the locations of recycling and disposal facilities on a map of Canada.
8.	Identify and describe existing markets, economic values and end uses for recovered C&D waste products and materials.
9.	Identify and propose recommendations and opportunities for improving the management of the C&D waste streams to mitigate risk posed to the environment and human health and to enhance resource recovery
10.	 Identify and briefly describe key stakeholder organizations in Canada, USA and Europe that are interested in the management of C&D waste.  Also provide personal contact information from each of these organizations, but as a separate document. 

The report must be comprehensive, yet written in a clear, understandable and concise fashion.  It must also include an executive summary and visual aids where appropriate (e.g. pictures, schematics, maps, graphs, tables, etc.) that are referenced and described in sufficient detail within the report.  Data sources must be clearly and appropriately referenced throughout the report using a bibliography.



PROJECT TEAM
It is recognized that the skills required to complete this work may not all reside within one organization and therefore team building with multiple specialized experts and expertise may be necessary. 

PROJECT DELIVERABLES
The Contractor must submit the following deliverables for this project: 

Deliverable #1: a draft table of contents for the report & detailed summary of the methodology and data sources that will be used to quantify C&D waste. The table of contents must identify how the content of the report will be organized. It must be accompanied by a detailed summary of the methodology and data sources that will be used to quantify C&D waste. Environment Canada will provide comments/feedback on Deliverable #1, which must be used in preparing the next Deliverables.
 
Deliverable #2: a first partial draft report & draft C&D waste contact list. The draft version of the C&D waste contact list (activity #10) must be delivered as a separate document and is not intended for inclusion in draft versions of the report. The first partial draft report must include information associated with activities #1, #2, #3 as described in the Statement of Work. A draft version of the C&D waste contact list (referenced in activity #10) must also be submitted as a separate document. The partial draft reports do not represent separate documents but instead reflect the current status of report throughout its evolution to completion.  They are intended to reveal draft information acquired and progress achieved in support of fulfilling specified activities under the Statement of Work. Environment Canada will provide comments/feedback on Deliverable #2, which must be used in preparing the next Deliverables.

Deliverable #3: a second partial draft report. The second partial draft report will include updated content from the first partial draft report and information associated with activities #5, #6 and #7 as depicted in the Statement of Work. The partial draft reports do not represent separate documents but instead reflect the current status of report throughout its evolution to completion. They are intended to reveal draft information acquired and progress achieved in support of fulfilling specified activities under the Statement of Work. Environment Canada will provide comments/feedback on Deliverable #3, which must be used in preparing the next Deliverables.
 
Deliverable #4: a complete draft final report. The draft version of the report must provide information associated with all ten activities as described in the Statement of Work in a concise format using easy to follow language and visual aids where appropriate. The draft report must incorporate all comments provided by Environment Canada on Deliverables #1, #2 and #3. Environment Canada will provide comments/feedback on the draft report, to be used in preparing the final report.
 
Deliverable #5: a complete final report. The final version of the report must provide information associated with all elements as described in the Statement of Work in a concise format using easy to follow language and visual aids where appropriate. All comments/feedback on Deliverable #4 must be incorporated into the final report.

Deliverable #6: a complete final C&D waste contact list. The final version of the C&D waste contact list (activity #10) must be delivered as a separate document and is not intended for inclusion in draft or final versions of the report.

Deliverable #7: a Power Point presentation summarizing the document. Must be provided in electronic format using Microsoft® Office PowerPoint.

The Contractor must provide deliverables #1 to #6 as electronic files in Microsoft® Word and in PDF format. Three (3) bound hard copies of the final report with all graphics in colour must also be provided. All deliverables must be provided in English.