When the city of Dublin, CA, found itself in the middle of a massive residential building boom spurred by unprecedented growth in the area, it knew it needed to take action to preserve both the environment and the local landfill, which was quickly filling to capacity.

The city passed an ordinance that required all new projects to meet a minimum goal of recycling at least 50 percent of their construction debris. DPR wanted to far exceed that threshold when it began construction of the new two building, 420,000-sq.-ft. campus for Sybase. The project team vowed to set an example and show just how much debris could be recycled rather than dumped.

DPR’s green initiative at Sybase has called for recycling at least 80 percent of all debris, a goal the team is sure will be exceeded. They developed a detailed waste management plan that entails separating the material on site into individual boxes for wood, metal, concrete, cardboard and the like. The debris is periodically hauled off for recycling.

Getting the subs on board and accountable has been a focus from the outset, according to DPR’s Greg Dean. “We’ve had great results and a lot of buy in from the subs. It’s really taken a team effort,” he comments. “We hope to make a good impression on both the city and the client.”