Construction waste

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Construction waste or debris 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]

Of total construction and demolition (C&D) waste in the United States, 90% comes from the demolition of structures, while waste generated during construction accounts for less than 10%.^[2] Construction waste frequently includes materials that are hazardous if disposed of in landfills. Such items include fluorescent lights, batteries, and other electrical equipment.^[3]

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.^[4] Data provided by 24 states reported that solid waste from construction and demolition (C&D) accounts for 23% of total waste in the U.S.^[5] This is almost a quarter of the total solid waste produced by the United States. During construction a lot of this waste spends 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]