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Bettesworth Construction
construction project management

How to Estimate and Track Construction Waste Diversion

Use a consistent project boundary and unit, document every destination, and calculate diverted waste as a share of total project waste.

By Bettesworth Construction Team 5 min read
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Calculate construction waste diversion by dividing the amount of project waste sent to qualifying non-landfill destinations by the project’s total waste produced, then multiplying by 100. A credible result also depends on a clearly defined project boundary, consistent units, destinations that meet the applicable rules, and records that support each quantity and facility rate.

How do you calculate a construction waste diversion rate?

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) gives the basic formula as:

Diversion rate = (total waste diverted from landfill ÷ total waste produced by the project) × 100

For example, if a project produces 100 tons of waste and 65 tons are documented as diverted under the applicable program, its rate is 65%. The example assumes all quantities use the same unit and that the 65 tons qualify under the project’s governing rules.

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USGBC says the calculation may use weight or volume, but units must remain consistent throughout. Do not divide tons diverted by cubic yards generated, or combine quantities from incompatible units without a supported conversion. The numerator alone is not enough: track the total waste produced as well as the amount diverted. See the USGBC construction and demolition waste planning guide.

What must be defined before tracking starts?

Project boundary and reporting period

Decide which project activities and waste streams are included, and set the period the report covers. Projects may differ in whether they count construction, demolition, site clearing, or other activities, so use the boundary required by the contract, certification, or local rule rather than assuming a general formula settles the question.

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Eligible destinations and measurement unit

List the destinations that the governing program accepts and select the required unit—weight or volume, unless the program specifies otherwise. Rules differ by certification, contract, and jurisdiction. For instance, the CalRecycle construction and demolition guidance describes model ordinance and jurisdiction-level approaches; it is not a universal rule for projects elsewhere.

What counts as waste, reuse, and prevention

Keep waste prevention separate from diversion unless the applicable method explicitly includes it. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describes source reduction as preventing waste before it is generated, which is different from managing material after it becomes waste. A prevented item is not automatically a diverted load. See EPA’s sustainable management of construction and demolition materials.

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How to set up a project tracking workflow

  1. Plan before mobilization. List expected materials and quantities, identify which streams can be source-separated, and contact local reuse outlets, recyclers, haulers, and facilities to confirm what they accept and how they document it. Assign who will collect each data point. EPA’s archived construction and demolition waste management planning fact sheet describes planning around anticipated waste types and quantities, final destinations, and costs.
  2. Make sorting practical on site. Place bins where crews can use them, explain what belongs in each container, and have the general contractor and subcontractors reinforce sorting. USGBC identifies steel, wood, and concrete as potential source-separated targets where markets exist. Clear signs, including symbols or multiple languages as needed, can help reduce contamination. Actual feasibility depends on local outlets and site logistics.
  3. Record every load or movement. For each stream, log the date, material, quantity, unit, hauler, destination, and ticket or facility-record reference. Coordinate the reporting format and responsible contacts with haulers, and include waste reporting in routine construction meetings. These fields make it possible to reconcile project totals and substantiate destinations; they are a practical recordkeeping approach, not a universal mandated form.
  4. Document commingled loads carefully. In the cited USGBC credit context, a commingled facility must supply either a project-specific diversion rate or a facility average regulated by the local or state authority. The facility rate must exclude alternative daily cover (ADC). Do not assume a commingled load is wholly diverted: apply only an eligible, documented rate and the calculation rules of the program being used.
  5. Reconcile during the work and at closeout. Compare tickets and facility records with the project log at regular intervals, resolve missing or inconsistent quantities, and total both generated and diverted waste. A technical guide for the federal Guiding Principles program gives monthly or bimonthly calculation as examples and requires weight for its 60% threshold; those are program-specific conditions, not general rules. At closeout, provide the material-level documentation required by the governing program. See the Guiding Principles technical guidance.

How to report uncertain or estimated quantities

Label the evidence behind each number rather than presenting all data as equally precise. A scale ticket, a facility’s documented recovery rate, and an estimated volume are different kinds of evidence. Keep the underlying record with the entry and disclose estimates where the applicable reporting rules permit them. If a quantity, destination, or facility rate cannot be substantiated, do not describe it as verified diversion.

When comparing rates between projects or facilities, check whether they use the same project activities and waste streams, denominator, reporting period, unit, qualifying destinations, commingled-load method, and evidence quality. A rate based on measured weights and ticketed destinations may not be directly comparable to one relying on estimates or a facility-wide average.

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Why national figures do not set a project target

EPA’s national estimate for U.S. construction and demolition material in 2018 was 600 million tons. Its detailed table reports 600.33 million tons generated: 131.59 million tons went to manufactured products, 313.07 million to aggregate, 1.89 million to soil amendment, 2.46 million to compost and mulch, 7.54 million to fuel, and 143.78 million to landfill. These categories sum to the reported total with rounding. EPA’s “next use” categories describe intended markets; they are not automatically equivalent to the qualifying destinations in a project’s certification or local reporting method. See EPA’s construction and demolition debris material-specific data and C&D materials overview.

Historical figures should not be treated as current requirements or benchmarks. An EPA specification written in December 2007 for projects at its Research Triangle Park campus described a 95% target for that site and referred to then-current LEED thresholds of 50% and 75%. It also stated that commercial construction typically generated 2 to 2.5 pounds of waste per square foot in that document. These are historical, site- and period-specific figures, not a current national average or universal diversion target. See the EPA Research Triangle Park construction specification.

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EPA’s 2015 methodology report also illustrates why national diversion figures require context. For 2011, it compared 17 million tons based on reported state data with 55 million tons after extrapolation; only 10 of the 12 states with reported diversion data supplied 2011 data, and EPA said the reported portion was 31%. The extrapolation related diversion to processing-facility counts and assumed similar average diversion per facility across states. EPA noted that facility size and recovery technology vary, and that source-separated asphalt, concrete, and land-clearing debris recycled on site or at facilities exempt from state rules were outside that method. This is methodological history, not a current measure of project performance. See EPA’s C&D debris generation methodology report.

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