Newly constructed low- and high-rise residential buildings such as:

• Hotels, motels, and lodging houses.
• Apartments and condominiums.
• One- and two-family dwellings and townhouses.
• Dormitories, shelters for homeless people, congregate residences, and employee housing.
• Other types of dwellings containing sleeping accommodations with or without common toilets or cooking facilities.
• Factory built housing.
• Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) built in accordance with the California Building Standards Code.
• Live/Work Units.
• Accessory structures serving residential buildings.

Additions or alterations of existing residential buildings where the addition or alteration increases the building's conditioned area, volume, or size. The CALGreen requirements are only applicable within the specific area of addition or alteration. Note: Minor electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits are exempt.

• Newly constructed buildings.
• Building additions of 1,000 square feet or greater.
• Building alternations with a permit valuation of $200,000 or above (for occupancies within the California Building Code).

Prior to issuance of a permit, the contractor or property owner must submit a CDMP to the City for approval.  You may complete the CDMP on your own or contact the District Environmental Coordinator from Burrtec at (760) 674-1026 for free assistance and guidance toward compliance with State regulations.  Most plans can be prepared within three to five working days of your initial call.

The District Environmental Coordinator will stay in contact with you throughout your project and will provide monthly recycling progress reports.  At the end of the job, both the property owner and contractor will be provided a final recycling report showing the overall recycling rate of the project.

Prior to issuance of Certificate of Occupancy, the project's final diversion report, to be drafted by Burrtec, will be forwarded to the City's Building & Safety Department. You will not be issued a Certificate of Occupancy without submitting a final diversion report to the City.

If you or your contractor choose to self-haul any materials including recyclables or trash, you will need to complete and submit a CDMP and will be required to provide copies of all weight tickets and/or receipts  from the transfer station, landfill, or recycler monthly to Burrtec to ensure compliance with the City's program. Clean-up companies and other haulers are not permitted to haul waste or recyclables from the City of Palm Desert. For a more extensive program guidelines, please click here. 

Not meeting the CALGreen 65% diversion goal may result in enforcement by the City per the municipal code section 15.18.010. Self-haul weight tickets will be used to draft the required monthly and final diversion reports needed to receive your Certificate of Occupancy.

Reminder: Burrtec Waste & Recycling is the exclusive franchised hauler for the City of Palm Desert. It is illegal for clean-up companies and other haulers to haul waste from your project.  Self-hauling is allowed under certain conditions. Contact Burrtec's District Environmental Coordinator at (760) 674-1026 or to start your project.

Please call the Special Programs Department for additional information at (760) 776-6342, or email recycling@palmdesert.gov.