Beginning his journey in the waste industry with a firm foundation in engineering, Chris Covell has utilized his skills in innovation and technology to lead him to his current position as president and owner of redbox+ Dumpsters of Orange County, California.
“I saw an opportunity that was lacking in the waste removal industry to bring excellence to the forefront when it comes to customer service and waste services on job sites,” he says.
Working in the waste industry for three years now, Covell has done a tremendous amount of work in overcoming the hurdles that have been thrown at him and his company.
Of these hurdles, Assembly Bill 939 and Senate Bill 1374 stand out as regulatory acts that shook things up for many waste companies in Orange County.
With these new challenges to create solutions for, Covell has put his experience as an engineer to the test to create efficient models that comply with the new regulations.
In a recent interview with Waste360, Chris Covell explained his experience working with redbox+ Dumpsters through the necessary waste diversion to comply with AB 939 and SB 1374 by creating an automated reporting system for commercial job sites.
Continue reading to hear his insight.
Waste360 Staff: What was the largest challenge SB 1374 arose for your work with redbox+ Dumpsters?
Covell: The major challenge with the SB 1374 was learning the requirements from what could be deconstructed from commercial and demolition projects in order for my business to comply properly and how to report it properly.
Many recycling facilities will not accept dirt, which surprisingly makes it one of the more challenging materials to divert.
Waste360 Staff: What specific challenges arise due to these specific regulations?
Covell: There is a common problem in the waste industry when it comes to diversion reporting for C&D job sites. Our software is not set up to be able for easy reporting which makes it time-consuming to report waste diversion efforts. Adding to the challenge, municipalities use many different forms and methods for reporting.
On the customer side, people tend to not know exactly what can and can’t be recycled. This can be a big challenge for a waste removal service like us as we may have to redirect this material to the alternate facilities from what was originally planned. As a result, we continue to educate our customers on best sorting practices in order to meet (and usually exceed) the waste diversion rate of 65%.
What was the company's overall response to the passing of the bill? How did all of your peers feel throughout the transition? What was the general attitude?
Aspects of AB 939 were already in place so it was more on how we were going to have to alter our business practices to comply with the regulations of sb1374 and AB 341.
CalRecycle and the sb1374 and AB 341 obviously aren’t nationwide so once we launched our business in Orange County, we had to adapt to comply with the diversion and reporting requirements.
We had to develop our own reporting system and documentation process as well as ensure we were meeting the 65% minimum diversion rate for Construction & Demolition debris. We were having to coordinate with customers on what was being disposed of and enforce compliance. We had to come up with ways to educate our customers on the different waste streams such as concrete and which material won’t be accepted at facilities.
Once we are in the position of the load, we don’t want any surprises that would impact our ability to recycle at the planned facility.
Waste360 Staff: Can you please share a memorable story of a time you had to adapt your work in order to comply with SB 1374/AB 939 regulations?
Covell: In order to comply with AB 939 regulations and SB1374 regulations to adapt to our processes we improved our internal processes by creating an automated reporting system and implemented planning procedures to better handle mixed streams when delivering to specific facilities. Most noted we implemented precautions to plan for longer round-trip drives in the case of a harder-to-handle mix to reach specific waste facilities.
With our improved systems and process in place, we were able to exceed expectations for our job sites when diverting waste by earning LEED certification which is a step above the 65% waste diversion ratio required by SB 1374.
For example, In September 2020 we were contacted by a national construction company on a ~$12M self-storage build. The large local municipal hauler was not dependable for bin swaps on previous projects and they would not provide the detailed documentation and reporting required.
By coordinating with the customer and educating them on the various recycling stream options, we were actually able to earn the building LEED certification and exceeded the recycling target for the project.
LEED certification is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. It is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership. There are two LEED points available for Construction and Demolition Waste Management. To maximize these points a job site must have four different “material streams” and show 75% of debris is recycled which exceeds the state requirements of 65%. LEED is very valuable for our clients because it offers economic, health, and environmental benefits for their company.
Waste360 Staff: What have you personally learned from the experience?
Covell: My journey within the waste industry and complying with the AB939/ sb1374 regulations in Orange County has been a huge learning curve for my business and our team.
We’ve had to develop our waste streams by finding and partnering with regional recycling facilities. Having options and flexibility for diversion types has been key to ensuring compliance with CalRecycle (diverting at least 65% of C&C material from the landfill).
We’re always on the lookout for additional recycling facilities, particularly if they accept and recycle other material types or combinations of materials.
Waste360 Staff: What has proven to be the most effective adjustment?
Covell: The most effective adjustment is coordinating with our customers to ensure the proper material streams are being disposed of properly and into which bin. Examples include asphalt, concrete, gravel, brick, tile, dirt, scrap metal, general C&D debris (materials recovery facility), etc. This is where, having more recycling facilities opens up the options we can provide -- as a hauler, we need to be able to recycle or divert any material stream we offer and maintain records to verify where, when and how much material was diverted.
We offered a variety of waste-stream options and (virtually) met with the project lead and their LEED consultant to determine the site strategy for recycling. It is best to identify and plan for the different material streams up front so the project manager knows which bins are needed and when and can designate them as such at the job site.
We proposed providing monthly LEEDs reporting for a small fee so that the project manager could gauge where they were at in their diversion rates as well as verify with their LEEDs consultant that the documentation met requirements. We also highlighted our ability to do quick turns (even same-day) and our reliability for making scheduled swaps on scheduled days (with a 24-hr advanced notice).
It helped significantly having done some LEED research in advance of the discussion so the team could demonstrate that both parties already understood the points-based system and the goal of the project.
Waste360 Staff: What is the most common or useful waste diversion tactic you utilize?
Covell: The most common waste diversion tactic we utilize is the use of transfer stations. Transfer stations make it easy to divert waste materials and further meet the correct requirements because they have to comply with the same regulations as we do.
The most common of the materials we take to divert is concrete which can be repurposed and re-used for many items people don’t know about.
Waste360 Staff: Throughout this whole process, what are you most proud of? Can you tell me about that?
Covell: Our internal process of diversion tracking and reporting, coordinating with our customers, and building relationships with waste facilities in the region has been very satisfying for our business.
Not only are we able to reach a 65% waste diversion rate for our customers, but we often exceed the mandate by recycling 75% or more of the materials. This goes well above corporate environmental responsibility and is something we are honored to achieve for our customers.
To provide some background and context on the LEED reporting system, I’ll explain.
The LEED report for Waste Management must show the job site address, date span of the material removal period, breakdown of tons recycled/ diverted vs. total tonnage removed from the job site as well as a total % diversion ratio.
Each waste stream must be broken out to show the portion diverted as well as the material destination. For added visibility, we also show which dates bins were picked-up and the individual bin's tonnage, type, and disposal location. Then the data is entered in a Google Docs spreadsheet and I form a "pivot table" to sum up the tonnage by Type. I then format that data and copy it to a Word .doc file that I ultimately convert to .pdf and sign before transmitting to the site's Project lead.
Overall, there is some extra work on the documentation side, but it has been well worth it given the project size! A bonus is having 2-3 bins on the site at any given time for whatever materials are being generated at that given phase in the build. We look forward to our next opportunity to bid on another LEED job site and plan to use this experience in our targeted marketing toward larger commercial/industrial Construction firms.
Waste360 Staff: What do you anticipate moving forward?
Covell: The diversion rate will continue to gradually increase from 65% to 75% for commercial and demolition projects.
I would like to see better reporting systems to streamline reporting at the municipal level. Having one automated system would greatly improve data collection and create a more streamlined process.
Waste360 Staff: Are there any new projects, adjustments, or regulations that you have your eye on?
Covell: Senate Bill 1383, the new organic waste requirement, is something we are watching but it is not something that directly affects our business and customer base because we typically don’t handle organics.
We are targeting more LEED job sites because this is one of the more challenging areas for waste haulers to succeed. Based on our feedback and results this is an area we have been known to excel at and we are excited to continue to meet and exceed our client's expectations