Construction and Demolition Waste

Construction and demolition (C&D) is one of the many types of waste streams that include municipal waste (household wastes), shipping and boating waste, and commercial/industrial waste. C&D waste is the waste produced during new construction, renovation, and demolition of buildings and structures. This includes building materials such as bricks, plastics and vinyl, carpet, brick and rubble, glass, metal, asphalt roofing, concrete, damaged wood, scraps of insulation, nails, electrical wiring, and rebar, as well as waste originating from site preparation such as dredging materials, and tree stumps. C&D waste may contain lead, asbestos, or other hazardous substances. For example, C&D wastes such as plasterboard are hazardous once broken down in landfill as they release hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas.

Waste created during new building construction, renovation, or demolition can include bricks, plastics and vinyl, carpet, glass, metal, asphalt roofing, concrete, damaged wood, insulation, nails, electrical wiring, and rebar

Source: iStockphoto

It has been estimated that C&D waste accounts for from 10 percent to as much as 30 percent of the total municipal waste stream. More specific research has also attempted to estimate the amount of construction and demolition waste in various countries. C&D waste is most often disposed of in landfills, where it takes up much of the space. For example about 65 percent of Hong Kong's landfill space at its peak in 1994–1995 was C&D waste. About one-third of the volume of materials in landfills in the United States is C&D waste. Data available for some European countries also indicate that the amount of C&D waste varies from country to country, depending on how it is defined. In 1996, the amounts of C&D waste in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands were about 300, over 500, about 2,600, and about 900 kg/cap, respectively.

Although C&D waste is a complex waste stream, made up of a wide variety of materials, recent recognition of its increasing volumes and shortage of landfill has led to more attention being paid in most countries to the diversion of waste components from landfills through waste reduction, recovery, reuse, and recycling. Reduction, reuse, and recovery (the three Rs principle) of waste, otherwise known as the waste management hierarchy, has been very widely adopted and has been officially recognized in most countries as one of the principles of sustainable waste management and development. In Denmark, the percentage of recycling is more than 80 percent. Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Ireland, and Italy each recycle 30–50 percent, whereas the recycling [Page 121]percentage in Luxembourg is 10 percent. Even building rubble (including concrete, brick, tile, and asphalt), can be recycled. In Australia in 2002–2003, approximately 50 percent of all recycled waste was C&D waste, and building rubble was by far the most recycled material.

Recycling, one strategy of waste minimization, offers some benefits: reduction of demand for new resources, reduction of transport and production energy costs, and reduction of space required for landfill. Furthermore, the social effects of solid waste management systems are reflected in the employment, health, and quality of life of residents in the region. Recycling, reusing, and salvaging construction waste can save money and also create employment related to salvaging and recycling of construction waste. In addition, the health and quality of life of residents are improved because less pollution is generated by reducing manufacturing and transportation energy-related emissions when salvaging and recycling are practiced.

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