Province-Wide Strategy to Manage Construction and Demolition Waste

Whereas construction and demolition waste comprises approximately 2.8 million metric tonnes of materials annually in British Columbia, and about one-third of municipal solid waste disposed in the province; And whereas the materials disposed could have been resold, reused or recycled, they represent sources of embodied carbon, and deconstruction provides six times more job opportunities; And whereas recent research in just Metro Vancouver suggests the value of salvageable wood at 343 million annually, and the addition of other materials and other regions would radically increase this number of value: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy develop a plan, including changes to regulations, provincial procurement policy, and economic and industrial policy, to signicantly reduce construction and demolition waste.