C&D Recycling (Diversion) Calculator
Under California’s 2025 CALGreen code, in effect since January 1, 2026, a new building, or a qualifying addition or alteration, must recycle or salvage at least 65% of its nonhazardous construction and demolition waste (sections 4.408.1 and 5.408.1). The alternative: a low-rise home that landfills no more than 3.4 pounds per square foot of building area passes, and so does other residential work or nonresidential new construction at 2 pounds. Your city can require more.
Built for contractors closing out a permit: enter the tons from each weight ticket by material and hand the printed arithmetic to the building department. In Orange County, Dana Point and Mission Viejo require 75%; the CALGreen guide for Orange County contractors goes city by city.
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The calculator
Your project's tons
Mixed load to a sorting facility? Enter the recycled and landfilled tons from its diversion report. Only nonhazardous waste counts.
Diversion
Diversion rate
67.8%
Target 65% (4.408.1)
Landfill rate
7.50lb / sq ft
Alternative: 3.4 or less (4.408.4)
Diverted
15.8tons
Landfilled
7.5tons
67.8% diverted: meets the 65% target
How this was calculated
- Measured by
- Weight, not volume
- Ton
- 2,000 lb
- Soil, land-clearing
- Counted separately
- Code
- CALGreen 2025
The practical lever: keep heavy loads clean
Our rate sheet says it plainly: “All mixed loads are dumped at the landfill and charged by weight.” Clean concrete or clean dirt is $775 to the fill line, and clean brick is $950 flat. Ask us where a clean load goes and what paperwork comes back. See the rate sheet.
Worked example
A 2,000 sq ft house: 67.8% with the concrete kept clean
Hypothetical tonnages on a low-rise residential job, as they would come off the facility weight tickets:
- Concrete: 12 t recycled
- Metal: 0.8 t recycled
- Wood: 3 t recycled
- Drywall: 1.5 t landfilled
- Mixed debris: 6 t landfilled
Rate: 15.8 diverted ÷ 23.3 total × 100 = 67.8%, over the 65%. Landfill check: 7.5 t × 2,000 lb ÷ 2,000 sq ft = 7.50 lb/sq ft, over the 3.4 lb alternative, so the percentage is what passes this job.
Now put the 12 tons of concrete in with the mixed debris. The rate falls to 16.3%. Same job, same tons: the only change is whether the heaviest material stayed clean.
Reference
What CALGreen 2025 asks for
Both paths are measured by weight here; CALGreen lets a plan use weight or volume, but not both.
| Project | Diversion | Or landfill no more than | Soil and land-clearing debris |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-rise residential | 65% (4.408.1) | 3.4 lb per sq ft landfilled (4.408.4) | Left out of the 65% (4.408.1, exception 1) |
| Other residential | 65% (4.408.1) | 2 lb per sq ft landfilled (4.408.4.1) | Left out of the 65% (4.408.1, exception 1) |
| Nonresidential | 65% (5.408.1) | 2 lb per sq ft landfilled (5.408.1.3), new construction, as approved by the enforcing agency | Left out of the 65%; 100% must be reused or recycled (5.408.3) |
| Building | Applies to |
|---|---|
| Residential | New buildings, and additions or alterations that increase the building's conditioned area, volume or size (301.1.1) |
| Nonresidential | New buildings, additions of 1,000 sq ft or more, and alterations with a permit valuation of $200,000 or more (301.3) |
| Any | A more stringent city ordinance can apply instead of the 65% (4.408.1, 5.408.1) |
How to use it
In 5 steps
- 1Pick the project type and enter the building area.
- 2Set the required rate: 65% unless your city asks for more.
- 3For each material, enter tons recycled, reused or salvaged, and landfilled, from the weight tickets.
- 4Enter soil and land-clearing debris on its own row. It's counted separately.
- 5Read the rate, the landfill check and the shortfall, if any.
How the rate is worked out, and what your city will want
The rate is the tons recycled or reused divided by all the nonhazardous C&D waste the job produced. Excavated soil and land-clearing debris are left out of it. On nonresidential jobs they have their own rule: 100% of trees, stumps, rocks, vegetation and soils from land clearing must be reused or recycled (5.408.3), unless diseased or pest-infested.
The plan. Where the city has no ordinance of its own, CALGreen asks for a construction waste management plan naming the materials to divert, whether they’ll be sorted on site or hauled mixed, the facilities they’ll go to, and whether diversion is measured by weight or by volume. Or you can use a waste management company, approved by the city, that documents the diversion for you.
The proof. Cities check before they sign off the permit. Laguna Niguel asks for weight tickets and takes a refundable deposit on new buildings and demolitions. Dana Point wants weight receipts showing the load came from Dana Point, taken to a city-certified facility. Look up your city on our service area pages.
The lever. Weight wins. The rate is counted in tons, so the heaviest materials on a job move it most. Keep concrete, dirt and brick out of the mixed bin. Our rate sheet says: “All mixed loads are dumped at the landfill and charged by weight.” Clean concrete or dirt is $775 to the fill line and clean brick is $950 flat. The debris weight calculator converts yards to tons, and the C&D recycling guide covers SB 1383 and the rest.
FAQ
Diversion %: questions
What is the CALGreen construction waste diversion requirement?
Recycle or salvage for reuse at least 65% of the nonhazardous construction and demolition waste, under section 4.408.1 for residential and 5.408.1 for nonresidential projects, or meet a stricter local ordinance. The 2025 edition took effect January 1, 2026.
Does soil count toward the 65%?
No. Excavated soil and land-clearing debris are an exception to the 65%. On nonresidential projects, section 5.408.3 separately requires 100% of land-clearing trees, stumps, rocks, vegetation and soils to be reused or recycled.
What is the waste stream reduction alternative?
Instead of proving 65%, a project can show how little it landfilled: no more than 3.4 lb per sq ft of building area for low-rise residential (4.408.4) or 2 lb (4.408.4.1). Nonresidential new construction can use 2 lb per sq ft if the enforcing agency approves (5.408.1.3).
Can my city require more than 65%?
Yes. CALGreen lets a more stringent local construction and demolition ordinance apply instead, and cities add their own paperwork: Laguna Niguel and Dana Point both take deposits and want weight tickets. Check your city's building department.
What paperwork proves diversion?
Usually weight tickets or receipts from the facilities that took the material, and a report at the end of the job. Laguna Niguel and Dana Point, for example, both ask for weight tickets.
Does a demolition-only permit need to meet 65%?
CALGreen's section is written for new buildings and qualifying additions and alterations. Cities can apply their own C&D rules to demolition permits: Laguna Niguel's covers demolition projects, and Dana Point's plan form covers demolition-only work.
Something not answered here? Call or text — it’s quicker than guessing.
Sources
Where these numbers come from
- [1]California Building Standards Commission, CALGreen (opens in a new tab)2025 CALGreen effective January 1, 2026; free read-only code at ICC. read 2026-09-22.
- [2]HCD, 2025 CALGreen Residential Mandatory Measures (effective Jan 1, 2026) (opens in a new tab)4.408.1 65%; exception for excavated soil and land-clearing debris; 4.408.4 low-rise 3.4 lb/sq ft; 4.408.4.1 2 lb/sq ft; 301.1.1 additions and alterations. read 2026-09-22.
- [3]2025 CALGreen Residential Mandatory Measures, Sheet 2 (January 2026), as published by South San Francisco (opens in a new tab)4.408.2 plan items (weight or volume, not both), 4.408.3, 4.408.5. read 2026-09-22.
- [4]2025 CALGreen Nonresidential Mandatory Measures, as published by Napa County (opens in a new tab)5.408.1 65%; 5.408.1.3 2 lb/sq ft for new construction; 5.408.3 100% of land-clearing debris; 301.3 thresholds. read 2026-09-22.
- [5]2025 CALGreen Nonresidential Mandatory Measures, as published by Burbank (opens in a new tab)"Excavated soil and land clearing debris (100% reuse or recycle)". read 2026-09-22.
- [6]14 CCR §18989.1 (SB 1383 regulations), CALGreen building codes (opens in a new tab)Cities and counties must require compliance with CALGreen 4.408.1 and 5.408.1 for organic waste mixed with C&D debris. Operative Jan 1, 2022. read 2026-09-22.
- [7]CalRecycle, Enforcement (AB 939) (opens in a new tab)AB 939 required cities and counties to divert 25% of solid waste by 1995 and 50% by 2000. read 2026-09-22.
- [8]City of Laguna Niguel, C&D waste reduction and recycling (opens in a new tab)At least 65%, demolition projects included; the April 2026 packet asks for weight tickets and a refundable deposit. read 2026-09-22.
- [9]City of Dana Point, C&D Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan (opens in a new tab)Weight receipts showing the material came from Dana Point; city-certified C&D facilities; security deposit. read 2026-09-22.
- [10]Eco Waste rate sheet, revised 07/01/2026 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)Clean concrete, dirt and brick rates; "All mixed loads are dumped at the landfill and charged by weight." Read September 23, 2026.
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Read more
- CALGreen Construction Waste Management in Orange County: What Contractors Need65% statewide, 75% in Dana Point and Mission Viejo, Green Halo cities, deposits, deadlines and what a weight ticket has to show.
- Construction & Demolition Recycling Rules in CaliforniaCALGreen's 65%, waste management plans, weight tickets and SB 1383: what a permitted job has to prove.
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