County of Los Angeles Updates C&D Ordinance — Includes Third-Party Certification

On January 31, 2023, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve Public Works staff’s proposed updates to LA County’s C&D Ordinance.  The background is below, as well as a link to the Board of Supervisors January 31, 2023 public hearing.  The proceedings, under Item 6. Hearing on County Code, Title 20 – Utilities Amendment, include this link to the certified ordinance. The new ordinance is anticipated to meet or exceed CalGreen requirements.  The ordinance went into effect March 2, 2023.  Congratulations to Los Angeles County!

Background:

The County of Los Angeles Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris Recycling Ordinance, adopted January 4, 2005, requires 50% of all debris generated from construction, demolition, and/or grading projects in unincorporated areas of the County to be recycled or reused. The 50% recycling rate and other requirements in the County ordinance met or exceeded the original minimum requirements in the State’s Green Building Standards Code (CalGreen).

In 2016, the State revised the CalGreen and increased the minimum recycling rate for all C&D debris from 50% to 65%. The revised 2016 CalGreen code also requires100% accountability of excavated soil, proper accountability and disposal for universal waste, and 100% recycling of soil, vegetation, and rocks generated from land clearing activities. These were not required in the previous CalGreen code, so are not in the County’s current C&D ordinance.

On April 30, 2018, Public Works updated the County green building code and adopted the 2016 CalGreen code by reference. However, the current County C&D ordinance does not comply with the minimum requirements in the 2016 CalGreen standard and the County building code.

Public Works is proposing to revise the County’s Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris Recycling and Reuse Ordinance to make the County ordinance consistent with the recycling requirements in the latest California Green Building Standards (CalGreen Code), to help achieve the waste diversion targets in the County’s Roadmap to a Sustainable Waste Management Future, and to help the County better address illegal dumping of soil and C&D debris in the unincorporated County areas and allow the disposal of soil at certain gravel pits and quarries to facilitate future development of those sites.

The proposed revisions will:

• Increase minimum required C&D recycling rate from 50 percent to 70 percent
• Require a 100 percent recycling rate for trees, stumps, rocks, and associated vegetation and soil from land clearing.
• Require 100 percent of excavated soil for all projects be properly accounted for
• Require proper disposal of Universal Waste
• Introduce a Refundable Project Deposit for certain grading, building, and construction permit applicants who submits a recycling and reuse plan to encourage compliance with the ordinance.
• Require certification for C&D Debris Recycling Facilities
• Require all County Projects comply with the C&D recycling requirements of the County and the State
• Require 100 percent accountability of all project C&D debris.

https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/sop/1137239_013123_PublicHearing.pdf#search=%22Construction%20&%20Demolition%20recycling%22