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Data on waste generated by construction and demolition projects at Yale has been collected since 2014—and the amount of material that is reused and recycled is a sustainability success story.
According to Yale’s Sustainable Design Requirements, construction and demolition waste (e.g. concrete, drywall, bricks, etc.) from large construction projects at Yale may not exceed 2.5 pounds per square foot of the building’s floor area. Smaller projects must divert a minimum of 75% through reuse or recycling.
Since 2015, Yale has diverted between 80%-90% of material from large construction projects through recycling and reuse. 2019 was an outlier for the volume of waste produced (and recycled) due to the building of Murray and Franklin Colleges.
In 2022, large construction projects led to 3,517 tons of construction and demolition material being recycled, 305 tons salvaged for reuse, and 823 tons disposed of as waste—resulting in a waste diversion rate of 81%.