Case Study: Contra Costa County Administration Building B & Plaza Construction
Overview:
Location: Martinez, USA
Facility Size: 65,194 sq ft
Typology: Government Administration Building
Owner/Developer: Contra Costa County
Construction Manager: Vanir
Architect: Perkins & Will
General Contractor: Webcor
TRUE Consultant: All About Waste
Key Facts and Figures:
10,346+ tons diverted from landfill
$27,711+ saved with reuse initiatives
8,504 MT of greenhouse gas emissions reduced by recycling and composting - equivalent to 1,806 gasoline-powered cars driven for one year
+536 kg CO2e saved in upfront embodied carbon emissions (A1-A3) by salvaging 3,430 lbs of marble from the existing buildings and reusing it in the elevator lobbies of the new building
Sustainability Goals:
TRUE for Construction - Gold Certification
Percent of Overall Waste Diversion Achieved: 95.07%
What We Delivered:
TRUE Certification Project Management, Consulting, Support, & Research
Complete TRUE documentation preparation, submission, and coordination with GBCI
TRUE Zero Waste Audit, material characterization, material and contamination quantification
A TRUE Zero Waste Audit Report with detailed metrics, charts, and photos for all waste streams
Analysis of materials generated, operational procedures observed, and more
Actionable recommendations for onsite teams to reduce waste, increase diversion, and improve upon current operations
Zero Waste Practices Implemented:
Source reduction:
Prodeck horizontal formwork system was used instead of the conventional formwork system made of plywood, avoiding 54,900 lbs of plywood waste going to landfill and saving $23,235.
Several office supplies and appliances from the existing buildings were reused in the jobsite trailer, including furniture, building partitions, fire extinguishers, etc.
Existing base rock was used to abandon and fill the top portion of the existing basement and build the building pad.
Plastic bottle reduction efforts; gloves and wood from the construction were repurposed into a table; and QR codes were used to reduce paper waste.
Waste separation salvage & reuse:
100 pieces (36” x 24” – approximately 600 sq. ft) of marble panels, originally located on the walls in the lobby of the old council chambers, were repurposed and installed in the elevator lobby of the new building.
1,500 granite blocks, originally part of the exterior walls at the old jail, were cut, shaped, and transformed into repurposed Jail granite pavers. The footings for the walls were made using these blocks.
59 perforated wood panels from the old Council Chambers were reused in the main lobby of the new building.
Wood dunnage was reused by one vendor for shipping panels to the construction site. A total of 450 lumber pieces were used, and about 60% of it was recycled lumber from previous jobs. Within this reuse initiative, the vendor was able to save about $4,476 on the project and reduce about 10,908 lbs of waste.
Community Engagement
Specialty cranes were used to move equipment for “floor by floor” deconstruction methods, improving waste diversion rates and reducing noise/dust, which was a concern for the community.
Procurement
In tandem with this project, Contra Costa County Public Works Purchasing Department developed an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy (EPP) and vendor portal.
Correct infrastructure
Waste collection points were distributed throughout the construction site. All bins were correctly labeled, with images and bilingual signage to communicate with the workers.
A TerraCycle box was available at the jobsite trailer for materials not acceptable in the regular recycling stream, such as chip bags and protective eyewear.
Education programs + creativity:
A dashboard was designed and displayed on the trailer’s external wall to show the project diversion rate and other data. This was an important component to keep people engaged and educated.
The project’s zero waste goal and hazardous waste prevention and handling procedures were included as part of the project safety training.
A Celebratory Coin program recognized workers and vendors who made outstanding contributions to zero waste efforts.
Several activities took place during the construction to celebrate and engage the community on zero waste, such as lunch-and-learn presentations, Earth Day presentations, BBQs at the construction site, site visits with students from ACE School, and a tour in the Republic Service's Facility with all project's teams.
Sustainability videos were developed to engage with the community. The videos were produced in English (Sustainability Tour of New Satellite Administration Building and Public Plaza) and Spanish (Recorrido Por La Sostenibilidad Del Nuevo Edificio De Administración De Satélites Y La Plaza Pública)
Above and Beyond
The project retained most of the existing foundation of the tower and mid-rise building below grade instead of removing and off-hauling it. According to Webcor's calculations, 872.04 tons (1,744,080 lbs) of concrete waste was avoided.
During the demolition of the old tower and jail, all concrete was sent to Antioch Building Material (ABM) to be turned into an aggregate base. After sourcing the aggregate base for the new building's basement fill from ABM, the loop for the concrete was closed, effectively keeping it in local markets and bringing it back to the site.
Summary:
All About Waste partnered with Vanir at the Contra Costa County Administrative Building by supporting waste reduction activities, promoting reuse and salvage of materials, providing a closed-loop system for several materials that were landfill-bound but were repaired instead, and prioritizing social equity and local jobs. These efforts helped significantly reduce carbon emissions, support public health, and promote local jobs and alternatives to the traditional approach of disposing of materials – aligning with the stringent California policies driving the state to a circular economy future. Download the project's TRUE case study here.