Construction waste

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Construction waste causing substantial fugitive dust emission in a densely populated area in Hong Kong

Construction waste is any kind of debris from the construction process. Different government agencies have clear definitions. For example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA defines construction and demolition materials as “debris generated during the construction, renovation and demolition of buildings, roads, and bridges.” Additionally, the EPA has categorized Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste into three categories:  non-dangerous, hazardous, and semi-hazardous.[1]

Construction waste frequently includes materials that are hazardous if disposed of in landfills. Such items include fluorescent lights, batteries, and other electrical equipment.[2]

When waste is created, options of disposal include exportation to a landfill, incineration, direct site reuse through integration into construction or as fill dirt, and recycling for a new use if applicable. In dealing with construction and demolition waste products, it is often hard to recycle and repurpose because of the cost of processing. Businesses recycling materials must compete with often the low cost of landfills and new construction commodities.[3] Data provided by 24 states reported that solid waste from construction accounts for 2.3% of total waste in the U.S.[4][5] During construction a lot of this waste spends time in a landfill leaching toxic chemicals into the surrounding environment. Results of a recent questionnaire demonstrate that although 95.71% of construction projects indicate that construction waste is problematic, only 57.14% of those companies collect any relevant data.[6]

Types of waste

Construction waste are materials used in and harvested from new building and civil engineering structures.

construction industry. Since considerable variability exists between construction sites, there is much opportunity for reducing this waste.[7]

There has been a massive increase in construction and demolition waste created over the last 30 years in the United States. In 1990, 135 million tons of construction and demolition debris by weight were created and had risen to 600 million tons by the year 2018. This is a 300% increase, but it is important to note that since 2015 the EPA has kept records of how the waste is disposed of. In 2018, 600 million tons of waste was created due to construction and demolition, and 145 million tons of it resides in landfills.[5] This means that about 76% of waste is now retained and repurposed in the industry, but there is still more waste being exported to landfills than the entire amount of waste created in 1990.

This unsustainable consumption of

construction materials
. The EPA aims to increase access to collection, processing, and recycling infrastructure in order to meet this issue head on.

Main causes of waste

Construction waste can be placed into two categories. Physical waste and non-physical waste.[9] Physical waste are materials remaining unused after a successful construction project. Non-physical waste is any material that was used that doesn't add to the worth of a project. This includes misused materials and design mistakes that use materials. Examples of both types of waste are as follows.

Steel reinforcement

Construction site in Amsterdam

reinforcement and structural integrity in the vast majority of construction projects. The main reasons steel is wasted on a site is due to irresponsible beam cutting and fabrication issues. The worst sites usually end up being the ones that do not have adequate design details and standards, which can result in waste due to short ends of bars being discarded due to improper planning of cuts.[10]
Many companies now choose to purchase preassembled steel reinforcement pieces. This reduces waste by outsourcing the bar cutting to companies that prioritize responsible material use.

Concrete Mixer

Premixed concrete

Premixed

foundation piles. Additionally, site managers know that additional concrete may be needed, and they will often order excess material to not interrupt the concrete pouring.[10]

Pipes and wires

It is often difficult to plan and keep track of all the pipes and wires on a site as they are used in so many different areas of a project, especially when electrical and plumbing services are routinely subcontracted. Many issues of waste arise in this area of the construction process because of poorly designed details and irresponsible cutting of pipes and wires leaving short, wasted pipes and wires.[10]

Improper material storage

The second leading cause of construction waste production is improper material storage. Exposure to the elements and miss handling by persons are due to human error.[10] Part of this human error can lead to illegal dumping and illegal transportation volume of waste from a jobsite.[11]

Recycling, disposal and environmental impact

Recycling and reuse of material

Recycling Trucks

Most guidelines on C&D waste management follows the waste managing hierarchy framework. This framework involves a set of alternatives for dealing with waste arranged in descending order of preference. The waste hierarchy is a nationally and internationally accepted concept used to priorities and guide efforts to manage waste. Under the idea of Waste Hierarchy, there is the concept of the "3R's," often known as "reduce, reuse, recycle." Certain countries adopt different numbers of "R's." The European Union, for example, puts principal to the "4R" system which includes "Recovery" in order to reduce waste of materials.[12] Alternatives include prevention, energy recovery, (treatment) and disposal.

It is possible to

recycle many elements of construction waste. Often roll-off containers are used to transport the waste. Rubble
can be crushed and reused in construction projects. Waste wood can also be recovered and recycled.

Landfilling

Some certain components of construction waste such as

plasterboard are hazardous once landfilled. Plasterboard is broken down in landfill conditions releasing hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas. Once broken down, Plasterboard poses a threat for increases Arsenic concentration levels in its toxic inorganic form.[13] The traditional disposal way for construction waste is to send it to landfill sites. In the U.S., federal regulations now require groundwater monitoring, waste screening, and operator training, due to the environmental impact of waste in C&D landfills (CFR 1996).[14]
Sending the waste directly to a landfill causes many problems:

Landfill

Incineration and health risks

Where recycling is not an option, the disposal of construction waste and hazardous materials must be carried out according to legislation of relevant councils and regulatory bodies. The penalties for improper disposal of construction waste and hazardous waste, including asbestos, can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars for businesses and individuals.

Waste Incinerator

Waste-to-energy facilities incinerate waste and convert the heat into energy. The toxic fumes emitted by WTE plants can contain harmful chemicals such as mercury[17] and other heavy metals[18], carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and dioxins.

These emissions can cause many different health risks when in contact with the humans. Mercury and heavy metals can have negative effects to the brain, kidneys, and lungs. Some heavy metals fumes are also carcinogenic. [19] High levels of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere has potential to cause acid rain.[20]

Management strategies

Waste management fees

Waste management fees, under the 'polluter pays principle', can help mitigate levels of construction waste.[21] There is very little information on determining a waste management fee for construction waste created. Many models for this have been created in the past, but they are subjective and flawed. In 2019, a study method was proposed to optimize the construction waste management fee. The new model expands on previous ones by considering life-cycle costs of construction waste and weighs it against the willingness to improve construction waste management. The study was based out of China. China has a large waste management issue, and their landfills are mostly filled in urban areas. The results of the study indicated different waste management fees for metal, wood, and masonry waste as $9.30, $5.92, and $4.25, respectively. The cost of waste management per square meter, or just under 11 square feet, on average was found to be $0.12.[22] This type of waste management system requires top-down legislative action. It is not a choice the contractor has the luxury of making on his/her own.

Europe

In the European Union (EU), there is now significant emphasis on recycling building materials and adopting a cradle-to-grave ideology when it comes to building design, construction, and demolition. Their suggestions are much clearer and easier at the local or regional level, depending on government structure. In the 2016 EU Construction & Demolition Waste Management Protocol, they emphasize the benefits beyond financial gains for recycling such as job creation and reduced landfilling. They also emphasize the consideration of supply and demand geography; if the recycling plants are closer to urban areas than the aggregate quarries this can incentivize companies to use this recycled product even if it is not initially cheaper. In Austria, there are new improvements in the recycling of unusable wood products to be burnt in the creation of cement which offsets the carbon footprint of both products.[23]

The EU urges local authorities who issue demolition and renovation permits to ensure that a high-quality waste management plan is being followed, and they emphasize the need for post-demolition follow-ups in order to determine if the implemented plans are being followed. They also suggest the use of taxation to reduce the economic advantage of the landfills to create a situation where recycling becomes a reasonable choice financially. However, they do include the fact that the tax should only apply to recyclable waste materials. The main points of how the Europeans choose to address this issue of waste management is through the utilization of the tools given to a governing body to keep its people safe. Unlike in the United States, the EU's philosophy on waste management is not that it is an optional good thing to do when you can but a mandatory part of construction in the 21st century to ensure a healthy future for generations to follow.

Taxing landfill has been most effective in Belgium, Denmark and Austria, which have all decreased their landfill disposal by over 30% since introducing the tax.[24] Denmark successfully cut its landfill use by over 80%, reaching a recycling rate over 60%. In the United Kingdom, all personnel performing builders or construction waste clearance are required by law to be working for a CIS registered business.[24] However, the waste generation in the UK continues to grow, but the rate of increase has slowed.[25]

A panorama of construction waste in Horton, Norway

United States

The United States has no national landfill tax or fee, but many states and local governments collect taxes and fees on the disposal of solid waste. The California Department of Resource Recycling and Recovery (

CalRecycle) was created in 2010 to address the growing C&D waste problem in the United States. CalRecycle aids in the creation of C&D waste diversion model ordinance in local jurisdictions. They also provide information and other educational material on alternative C&D waste facilities. They promote these ordinances by creating incentive programs to encourage companies to participate in the waste diversion practices. There are also available grants and loans to aid organizations in their waste reduction strategies.[25] According to a survey, financially incentivizing stakeholders to reduce construction waste demonstrates favorable results.  This information provides an alternative way to reduce the cost so that the industry is more careful in their project decisions from beginning to end.[26]

See also

References

  1. doi:10.5281/zenodo.225510 – via Environment Complete.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  2. ^ a b "Construction and Demolition Materials". www.calrecycle.ca.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  3. ISSN 1930-2126
    .
  4. ^ "Municipal Solid Waste and Construction & Demolition Debris | Bureau of Transportation Statistics". www.bts.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  5. ^ a b US EPA, OLEM (2016-03-08). "Sustainable Management of Construction and Demolition Materials". US EPA. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  6. PMID 35368528.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  7. ISBN 0-7134-5380-X
  8. ISSN 1396-0466
    .
  9. ^ Nagapan, Rahman, Asmi (October 2011). "A Review of Construction Waste Cause Factors". ACRE 2011 Conference Paper – via researchgate.net.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^
    ISSN 0733-9364
    .
  11. S2CID 209509814
    .
  12. S2CID 237468721
    .
  13. PMID 27838158
    .
  14. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9372(2002)128:3(237) – via ASCE Library.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  15. ^ "RECYCLING CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTES A Guide for Architects and Contractors" (PDF). April 2005.
  16. ^ "Construction Waste Management | WBDG Whole Building Design Guide". www.wbdg.org. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  17. ISSN 1352-2310
    .
  18. PMID 31158674
    .
  19. PMID 690736
    .
  20. ISSN 1352-2310
    .
  21. ISSN 1943-7862
    .
  22. ISSN 0959-6526
    .
  23. ^ Anonymous (2018-09-18). "EU Construction and Demolition Waste Protocol and Guidelines". Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs - European Commission. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  24. ^ a b "Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  25. ^
    S2CID 20266040
    .
  26. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001461
    – via ASCE Library.

External links
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