Survey of CCA-Treated Wood
in the C&D Waste Stream
CCA TAG Meeting
May 13, 2004
Orlando, Florida
Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous
Waste Management
A Type I (Statewide) Research Center
created by the Florida Legislature in 1988
The Center’s mission is to
sponsor and conduct
research in the area of solid
and hazardous waste
management.
We work with faculty at
nine universities.
Principal research areas include:
• Construction & • Municipal Solid
Demolition Debris Waste Management
• Electronic Waste • Pollution Prevention
• Hazardous Waste • Recycling and Reuse
Management
• Socioeconomic
• Incineration Issues
• Landfills • Special Wastes
• Medical Waste • Waste Reduction
Management
Current CCA Research
Projects
Extent of CCA-Treated Wood Used for
Commercial Mulch
Helena Solo-Gabriele, Ph.D., P.E.
University of Miami
Timothy Townsend, Ph.D.
University of Florida
Management and Disposal Options for CCA-
Treated Wood Waste
Helena Solo-Gabriele, Ph.D., P.E.
University of Miami
Timothy Townsend, Ph.D.
University of Florida
Arsenic Uptake Released From CCA-Treated
Lumber by Florida Vegetable Crops
Aziz Shiralipour, Ph.D.
University of Florida/IFAS School of
Forest Resources and Conservation
Survey Team
FCSHWM: Florida Dept. of
– Cheryl Baker Environmental
– Marcia Marwede Protection:
– Rosemary McDaniel – Suzanne Boroff
– Diana Reichenbach – Bill Hinkley
– Rhonda Rogers
– Lee Martin
– John Schert
– Chris McGuire
– Kim Stenger
– Dion Weaver – Richard Tedder
Survey Team
University of Miami: University of Florida:
– Gary Jacobi – Kim Cochran
– Tomoyuki Shibata – Sreeram Jonnalagadda
– Dr.Helena Solo- – Aaron Jordan
Gabriele – Dr. Tim Townsend
– Qiyong Xu
Survey Team
Organizational/Safety Meeting Feb 18, 2004
Survey Team
FCSHWM
Survey
Team
The Contribution of Wood to C&D Debris
Renovation
Yard
Waste
New Construction Demolition
Survey of Disposal Facilities
in Florida
Provide data/information on the
occurrence of CCA-treated wood in the
waste stream.
Survey of Disposal Facilities
23 facilities were visited across the state
between February 26 – May 4
– Class III landfills
– C&D landfills
– Materials Recycling Facilities (MRFs)
– Class I landfill (one facility)
Staff observed that there is very little difference
in the type of waste accepted at Class III
landfills and C&D landfills.
Landfills
Recycling Facilities
Survey of Disposal Facilities
20 Counties visited
Bay Manatee
Broward Nassau
Columbia Okaloosa
Dixie Palm Beach
Flagler Pasco
Gulf Polk
Hernando Putnam
Leon Santa Rosa
Liberty Sarasota
Marion Suwanee
Survey of Disposal Facilities
Preliminary Data!!
Total # of loads observed = 342
Est. total volume of all loads = 6501 yd3
# of loads containing wood = 319 or 93% (319/342)
Est. total volume of wood = 1566 yd3 or 24% (1566/6501)
# of loads contained treated wood = 141 or 41%
(141/342)
Est. total volume of treated wood = 261 yd3 or 4%
(261/6501)
4% Seems about right based
on previous research by
Townsend and Solo-Gabriele.
Wood Mix
Untreated vs. Treated
83% untreated
17% treated wood
Survey of Disposal Facilities
Due to safety
issues, the
source of the
loads
(residential/
commercial,
construction/
demolition/
renovation,
etc.) could not
be determined
for all loads.
Dedicated Loads (Deck/Dock)
Dedicated Loads
Of the 342 total loads observed, 141 of
the loads contained treated wood.
Of the 141 loads containing wood, there
were 9 loads (6.3%) where the fraction of
treated wood was greater than 80% of the
total volume of the load.
Of the 141 loads containing wood, there were
5 loads (3.5%) where the fraction of treated
wood was greater than 98% of the total
volume of the load.
So, the PRELIMINARY
data indicates that only
1.5% of the 342 loads
were “dedicated loads”.
Dedicated load from a dock builder
The identification and removal of CCA-treated
wood is VERY difficult in some instances.
Identification of treated wood is
difficult when the wood is painted.
End tags help identify CCA-treated wood
Is it CCA, ACQ or Copper Azole?
Color differences between untreated
and treated wood (NOT WEATHERED)
Mixed wood debris
Weathering and paint make
identification difficult
Treated wood may be hidden in
landscaping and yard waste
Survey of Disposal Facilities
How was CCA-treated wood identified?
Of the 141 loads that contained treated wood:
• 63% were identified by the greenish hue
• 37% were from a structure that is typically
treated (fence, deck, dock, etc.)
• 10% were identified through consultation with
landfill staff, hauler, or other expert
• 5% were identified by end tags
*note: some loads were identified using more than one method
Survey of Disposal Facilities
Survey of Disposal Facilities
Borate treated wood
for interior use only
Survey of Disposal Facilities
Survey of Disposal Facilities
Survey of Disposal Facilities
Survey of Disposal Facilities
How waste enters MRFs
Waste Sorting at MRFs
Wood separated from other waste
at MRFs
A concrete tipping floor such as this
makes picking and sorting easier
Some landfills have more area for
walking around the waste to sort
out recyclables
Most landfills have little room for
sorting waste after tipping
Phone Survey
The team contacted
approximately 500
businesses that typically
dispose of wood.
Businesses that participated
Contractors – 14 Insert photo
Decks – 6
Demolition – 5
Docks – 31
Fencing – 140
Marine – 34
Woodworks - 2
Typical Uses
Decks, Boardwalks
Typical Uses
Fences
Typical Uses
Docks
Typical Uses
Utility Poles
Phone Survey Results
How much CCA-treated wood is being discarded?
General contractors reported CCA-treated
wood was in SOME of their loads
Deck Builders reported that nearly ALL the
decks were CCA-treated
Demolition Contractors reported that VERY
FEW of their loads contained CCA-treated
wood
Dock Builders reported that MOST docks
were CCA-treated
Fence Builders
– 21% reported less than half of their discarded
wood waste was CCA-treated
– 2% reported that half of their discarded wood
was CCA-treated
– 38% reported that most of their discarded
wood waste was CCA-treated
– 39% were unsure how much of their
discarded wood was CCA-treated
Marine Contractors
– 14% said a small amount of their wood waste
was CCA-treated
– 12% said most of their wood waste was CCA-
treated
– 56% said all of their wood waste was CCA-
treated
– 18% were unsure how much of their
discarded wood was CCA-treated
Where is the discarded wood going?
Landfilled - 51%
Picked up by hauler - 51%
24%
24%
Placed in dumpster -
7%
Taken to C&D facility -
5%
Burned - 3%
7%
Picked up by collection
service - 3%
5%
Recycled - 3%
3%
Unknow n - 3% 3%
3% 3%
Other - 1% 1%
Waste wood disposed in a roll-off
Residential Collection
Some residential treated
wood waste is already
being hauled to a waste-
to-energy plant or lined
MSW landfill through
curbside collection.
Residential
Collection
Some landfills indicate they do
not accept treated wood
THANK YOU TO:
Arena Landfill and Sand, Crestview
Bayside of Ocala, Ocala
Coastal Landfill Disposal of Florida, Hudson
Deland Landfill, Deland
Delta Recycling, Pompano Beach
Dixie County Transfer Station and C&D Site, Cross City
Five Points Landfill, Port St. Joe
Lena Road – Manatee County Landfill, Bradenton
Leon County South Landfill, Tallahassee
Liberty County Landfill, Bristol
Live Oak C&D Landfill, Live Oak
Pasco County Landfill, Springhill
Pasco Lakes Landfill, Wesley Chapel
Polk County North Central Landfill Facility, Winter Haven
Putnam County Central Landfill, Palatka
Sandhill Recycling, Fernandina Beach
Santa Rosa Central Landfill, Milton
Sarasota County Central Landfill, Nokomis
Sun Recycling, Dania
Sun Recycling, Lantana
Sunshine Grove Road C&D Landfill, Brooksville
Waste Recyclers of North Florida, Freeport
Winfield Southwest Facility, Lake City
And to all the businesses that gave of
their time to answer the phone survey