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State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
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DIVISION OF SOLID AND HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT


CONSTRUCTION COMPANY/CONTRACTOR REUSE
CONCRETE, ASPHALT, BRICK AND BLOCK
RECYCLING FACILITY EXEMPTION
AT N.J.A.C. 7:26A-1.4(a)20

FACT SHEET

This exemption from the requirement to obtain a general or limited approval for a recycling facility became effective on December 17, 2002. The exemption allows any construction company or contractor, which through the course of construction and demolition activities generates source separated concrete, asphalt, brick, and block, to receive, store, process and transfer the material, provided:

1. The company or contractor is the sole generator of the material, and

2. The unprocessed material is stored in a manner which prevents runoff, leakage or seepage from the storage area into or onto the ground surface around the storage area, is stored in accordance with all applicable county or municipal laws or regulations, and is temporarily stored either:

i. No longer than a specified 60-day period that commences from the start date indicated in the notification to the Department, and such temporary storage shall not occur more than twice within the same calendar year or in succession, or

ii. In roll-off or other similar containers, and

3. The company or contractor shall be the sole end-user and/or end-market of the end product that is generated and the end product shall be used exclusively for future projects of the company or contractor. Sale of the processed material is strictly prohibited.

4. The processed material shall only be stored on-site for a period of one year.

The following are frequently asked questions regarding this exemption:

1) Who qualifies for the exemption?

Only the construction company or contractor which directly generates the material is eligible for the exemption. If Company A is hired to perform a demolition job and sub-contracts the actual demolition work out to Company B, then Company B would be the generator of the material and may utilize the exemption. Company A would not be eligible for the exemption because Company A did not directly generate the material.

2) Can I accept material from other contractors and outside sources?

No. Only the construction company or contractor which directly generates the material is eligible for the exemption. Any company that accepts recyclable concrete and asphalt material from outside contractors is operating a Class B recycling center and does not qualify for any exemptions.

3) Where can the material be stored?

The proposal of the exemption, which appeared in the December 17, 2001 New Jersey Register, stated the exemption was for the storage of material at a construction yard. Therefore, the unprocessed material may be transported only to the main site of operations or yard of the construction company or contractor which generated it. The company may not lease or purchase a piece of property solely for the storage of the material.

Additionally, only one construction company or contractor is eligible for the exemption at a given site. If the Department receives notifications of exemption which indicate that more than one construction company or contractor plans to operate on the same lot and block number, as identified on the official tax map of the municipality in question, the Department will deny the exemption to all of the companies.

4) What are the storage requirements?

There are two scenarios allowed under this exemption: operations for specified 60-day periods and operations on a continuous basis.

a) Operations for a specified 60-day period:

Material may be stored for a specified period of 60 days. The 60 days begin when material is first placed on-site. All processing of material must be completed within the 60 days. If all of the material has not been processed within 60 days, the remaining unprocessed material must be removed off-site and taken to an approved facility, such as a Class B recycling center.

The unprocessed material must be stored in a manner that prevents runoff, leakage or seepage from the storage area onto the ground surface around the storage area. The material shall be stored in accordance with all applicable county and municipal laws and regulations.

The processed material may remain on-site for up to one year from the date it was processed.

No more than two specified 60-day periods may occur within the same calendar year and may not occur in succession. A separate notification must be submitted to the Department for each specified 60-day period.

b) Operations on a continuous basis:

Material may be stored temporarily provided all material is stored in roll-off containers or other similar containers. The unprocessed material must be stored in a manner that prevents runoff, leakage or seepage from the storage area onto the ground surface around the storage area. The material shall be stored in accordance with all applicable county and municipal laws and regulations.

A separate notification must be submitted to the Department each time the material stored on-site is to be processed.

5) Can the construction company or contractor which generated the material contract with another company to perform the processing of the material?

Yes. The processing of the material may be performed either by the construction company or contractor which generated the material, or by another company that is hired specifically for the purpose of processing the material. However, the processing may only occur at the yard of the construction company or contractor which generated the material, which must remain the sole end-user and/or end market for the processed material.


6) Can the processing of the material be performed at the job site?

No. Under this exemption, the processing of material may only occur at the yard of the construction company or contractor which generated the material. Processing may not occur at the job site under this exemption.

However, there is a separate exemption found at N.J.A.C. 7:26A-1.4(a)2 which allows for the processing of material at the point of generation, provided all of the processed material is reused at the point of generation.


7) Can I sell the processed material to another company?

No. The exemption only allows the construction company or contractor which generated the material to reuse the processed material in its own construction jobs. The material may not be sold or given to any other company, including another company under the same ownership.


8) How do I file the necessary paperwork to operate under the exemption?

To operate under the exemption, the company must submit a notification to the Department of the activities to occur. The notification must include a schedule for the completion of processing activities, which may not begin until the company has received a written response from the Department. A form may be obtained from the Department’s web page at www.nj.gov/dep/dshw. The form may be faxed to the Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management at (609) 777-1951. The Department will sign the form acknowledging receipt of the notification and fax the signed form back to the submitter. The notification form must also be filed with the host municipality and county.


9) Are there any reporting requirements?

Yes. Companies operating under an exemption must submit a recycling tonnage report by February 1 of each year to the municipalities they have received material from, to the county, and to the Department. The report to the Department should be sent to:

Mail Code: 401-02C
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
Bureau of Recycling and Planning
P.O. Box 420
Trenton, NJ 08625-0420

The report shall detail the amount of source separated recyclable material, expressed in tons or cubic yards, received, stored, processed and transferred at the facility during the previous calendar year.


10) Are there any record keeping requirements?

Yes. Records must be maintained of the amount and type of material received, stored, processed, or transferred on a daily basis. The records shall include the name and address of the site where the material was generated, the dates the material was accumulated, the dates of processing, and the sites where the processed material was utilized. These records shall be kept on-site and be made available to the Department upon request.


11) If I choose not to utilize this exemption, to what type of facility may I send the material?

Concrete and asphalt that are not handled under this exemption are regulated as either solid waste or Class B recyclable materials. The generator of the concrete and asphalt may choose to send the material to a solid waste facility under the Solid Waste Regulations or the material may be sent to an approved Class B recycling center under the Recycling Regulations.

12) If I operate under this exemption are there additional regulations with which I must comply?

Yes. This exemption only exempts your company from the requirement to obtain a Class B Recycling Center Approval. Your operations must be in compliance with all local ordinances and any other applicable environmental regulation including obtaining an Air Permit for the operation of the processing equipment. If you are hiring a separate company to crush the concrete, you must confirm that company has a valid Air Permit to operate the equipment.

13) Are there any penalties if I do not comply with the requirements of this exemption?

Yes. A company that receives, stores, processes, or transfers concrete or asphalt material without complying with the requirements of this exemption and without having a Class B Recycling Center Approval is operating an illegal solid waste facility and may be subject to penalties up to $50,000 per day.




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Last Updated: February 1, 2024