Construction and Demolition Waste

Quantities

Unlike MSW and some industrial processes, wastes that are generated as by-products of relatively steady, year-round activity, C&D waste generation fluctuates considerably with the economic conditions in a particular country or region. There is a close association between C&D generation and economic activity. Periods of building boom, moreover, presage periods of demolition decades into the future as structures age and require repair or demolition. Thus, increases in C&D in a particular year may represent echoes of a prior period of prosperity many years before, a phenomenon that has been studied and documented in European countries in particular. In rapidly developing countries, such as China, industrialization, increased consumption, and the expansion of the middle class has meant rapid escalation of C&D generation in the 2000s. Finally, C&D generation is influenced by disasters (which are by nature unpredictable and of varying magnitude) that result in destruction of the built environment.

For this reason, estimates of world C&D generation are not possible and national-scale estimates are highly specific year-by-year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the C&D waste stream in the United States as of 2003 was 170 million tons annually. The European Union (EU) reports a roughly estimated 450 million tons for all member countries, but the data quality, inclusiveness, and consistency varies greatly among nations and generally dates to the late 1990s. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) adds that Japan generates 123 million tons and Korea 38 million tons annually. Independent reports from China indicate that overall C&D generation is averaging 120 million tons annually and is growing every year, causing the Chinese government to regulate demolition permit issuance to stem the transport and disposal burdens facing Chinese cities. The Indian government estimates a rapidly growing C&D stream of roughly 20 million tons annually.

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