(1) The department of transportation and its implementation partners must collaboratively develop and establish objectives and strategies for the reuse and recycling of construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials. This process must include the development of criteria for the successful and sustainable long-term recycling of construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials in Washington state transportation, roadway, street, highway, and other transportation infrastructure projects.

(2) The department of transportation must, unless construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials are not readily available and cost-effective, specify and annually use a minimum of twenty-five percent construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials on its cumulative transportation, roadway, street, highway, and other transportation infrastructure projects.

(3)(a) All local governmental entities with a population of one hundred thousand residents or more must, as part of their contracting process, request and accept bids that include the use of construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials for each transportation, roadway, street, highway, or other transportation infrastructure project.

(b) Prior to awarding a contract for a transportation, roadway, street, highway, or other transportation infrastructure project, the local governmental entity must compare the lowest responsible bid proposing to use construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials with the lowest responsible bid not proposing to use construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials, and award the contract to the bidder proposing to use the highest percentage of construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials if that bid is the same as, or less than, a bidder not proposing to use construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials or proposing to use a lower percentage of construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials.

(4) Any local governmental entity with a population of less than one hundred thousand residents must:

(a) Review and determine the capacity for recycling and reuse of construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials for roadway, street, highway, and other transportation infrastructure projects in its jurisdiction;

(b) Establish practical and applicable strategies to recycle and reuse construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials for roadway, street, highway, and other transportation infrastructure projects in its jurisdiction; and

(c) Upon the completion of the review and strategy development, begin implementing the strategies to achieve the recycling and reuse objectives established for its jurisdiction.

(5) The applications and related specification standards for state and local transportation and infrastructure projects that reuse and recycle construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials to be used in the implementation of this section are outlined in the department of transportation’s standard specifications for road, bridge, and municipal construction, section 9-03.21, table 9-03.21(1)E.

(6) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(a) “Construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials” means reclaimed coarse and fine aggregate cement and concrete mixtures as commonly defined by the American public works association, the federal highway administration, and department of transportation specifications.

(b) “Implementation partners” means local governmental entities and interested Washington-based associations representing the appropriate sectors of the construction industry.

(c) “Local governmental entities” means cities or counties.

Findings—2015 c 142: “(1) The legislature finds that the Washington state highway system is extensive, with over one hundred seventy-five thousand miles of public, city, county, and state highway pavements and over eight thousand seven hundred built structures, built using large quantities of construction aggregates, asphalt, concrete, steel, and cement. Much of our transportation and infrastructure system is in need of major rehabilitation or total reconstruction. These natural resource construction materials used to build our existing system are too valuable to be wasted and landfilled. Some of the best natural construction materials produced in Washington state are already in use for highways, bridges, and building construction. Effective and responsible recycling is an effective life-cycle strategy to reuse these construction materials in the construction of new state and local transportation and infrastructure projects as well as to repair, reconstruct, and maintain them.

(2) The legislature further finds that the recycling of aggregates and other transportation construction materials makes sound economic, environmental, and engineering sense and is in keeping with meeting Washington state’s greenhouse gas reduction priorities. The economic benefits from the reuse and recycling of these valuable, finite, and nonrenewable materials can be very effective in reducing the cost of designing, engineering, and construction of new transportation projects and will make greater use of limited state and local transportation funds for additional highway construction, rehabilitation, preservation, or maintenance projects.

(3) The legislature further finds that the reuse of construction aggregate and recycled concrete materials into new transportation and infrastructure structure projects is known to:

(a) Promote the conservation and protection of permitted and unpermitted construction aggregate resources;

(b) Reduce the need for the consumption of new construction aggregate materials;

(c) Encourage the reuse and recycling of currently classified waste materials and discourage landfilling of valuable natural resources;

(d) Reduce waste, preserve finite landfill space, and reduce illegal dumping by encouraging reuse and recycling through sound and practical environmental best management and handling practices;

(e) Reduce truck trips and related transportation emissions;

(f) Reduce greenhouse gases related to the construction of new transportation projects, reduce embodied energy, and improve and advance the sustainable principles and practices of the state of Washington and its transportation system;

(g) Reduce project material and construction costs for state and local level projects; and

(h) Be consistent with the governor’s executive order No. 13-04 (September 2013), the state department of transportation sustainability executive order No. E1082.00 (August 2012), and presidential executive order No. 13423 (January 2007).” [ 2015 c 142 § 1.]

Effective date—2015 c 142: “This act takes effect January 1, 2016.” [ 2015 c 142 § 4.]