Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling;A legislative comparison for use in Queensland policy making.

Presentation for BEB801 Capstone ProjectTom Ahern – Bachelor of Civil EngineeringQueensland University of Technology10th June 2016

Index

Introduction to construction and demolition (C&D) waste;

History of C&D waste management and recycling;

C&D Recycling in South-East Queensland; C&D Recycling in Denmark; C&D Recycling in Hong Kong;

Recommendations

C&D Waste 50%+ waste generated worldwide is C&D;

Many European countries achieving 90%+ recycling;

Other developed countries struggling to improve;

~95% of waste on typical construction sites can be recycled;

C&D Waste Waste management historically focused on hygienically

disposing waste;

Historically construction activities acquired ‘unlimited’ resources and produced ‘unlimited’ waste;

Now understood that limited resources should be conserved and waste should be reduced;

Ideal system uses ‘energy’ to reuse and recycle limited resources and extend life-cycle of materials.

Current C&DW Recycling Climate Denmark/Netherlands/Germany world leaders in C&D

recycling practices;

Lack of awareness in many developed countries such as EU members and USA;

Australia achieving promising results in NSW & Victoria;

Queensland struggling with ~42% C&DW recycled.

4R’s of Waste Management

Reduce

Reuse

Recycle

Recover

Dispose

Construction Waste Recycling Typically consists of

concrete, rubble, asphalt, brick, plaster, wood, metal and plastic;

Source-separation

All materials are separated into respective stockpiles and reused or sent to recyclers/landfill

Demolition Waste Recycling Includes aggregate, concrete, wood, metal, insulation and

glass;

Usually contaminated with paints, adhesives, dirt etc.

Selective demolition as an alternative to full demolition;

Allows components to be disassembled and recycled before core structure is destroyed.

South-East Queensland C&D Recycling

SEQ is largest growth area in the state;

Only reports 42% recycling of C&D wastes where other states are achieving 70%+;

Many barriers including landfill fees, inferior recycled materials and general lack of experience;

Timber and concrete largest recycled products.

Waste Management Legislation - SEQ

Lack of policy surrounding the reduction and recycling of construction waste;

Waste Reduction Recycling Act;

Waste Reduction and Recycling Strategy;

Landfill levy introduced at $35/t then repealed;

Waste Management Legislation - SEQ

Only affects government subsidiaries and those under government owned contracts;

Sets target at 40% total weight of waste to be reused or recycled;

Requires source-separation techniques where practicable;

Only accounts for a small section of C&D taking place.

Denmark C&D Recycling First developed after Copenhagen landfill exhaustion in

1985;

1989 first municipal solid waste management plan enforced;

1993 Estimated 50% of C&D waste recycled, 23% incinerated & 27% disposed in landfill;

By 2008 approximately 90% of C&D waste recycled, 2% via incineration (energy recovery) & 8% disposed in landfill.

Denmark C&D Recycling Waste is managed at all levels of government;

Environmental Protection Agency, Ministry of Environment and Energy, County policies & Municipality governance.

Odense Waste Management Facilities; Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) collection throughout Odense, 8 Recycling stations, Landfilling, sorting and composting facilities.

Waste Management Legislation – Denmark Statutory Orders

Source-separation, Hazardous waste separation, Recycling unpolluted C&DW

Landfill Ban Ban for all materials suitable

for incineration.

Waste-to-energy facilities accommodated influx of waste.

Waste Management Legislation – Denmark Landfill and incineration tax

first introduced in 1987;

Dramatic drop in landfilling since introduction;

Generates over €120 million annually;

Revenue supports recycling processes and cleaner technology ventures.

Hong Kong C&D Recycling Sovereign territory in China – 7.3 million residents;

Inert waste – rock, rubble, concrete, brick, sand soil – Sent to public filling facilities for land reclamation;

Non-inert waste – Organic material and contaminated inert waste – Disposed in landfill.

Approximately 20% non-inert, 80% inert

Hong Kong C&D Recycling Adopted the 4R’s approach to construction waste

management;

Source-separation is not widely encouraged – Only used when contractually required;

Top-down demolition required due to lack of space;

Tseung Kwan O Fill Bank Recycling facilities; Crushing plant and sorting facilities; Daily capacity of 1200 tonnes of crushed aggregate.

Waste Management Legislation – Hong Kong Waste disposal ordinance (1980) to reduce illegal dumping;

Waste Reduction Framework Plan (1998) to promote reuse and recycling of materials;

2006 Off-site construction waste sorting program; Led to the commissioning of the Tseung Kwan O Fill Bank.

Introduced in conjunction with Waste Charging Scheme

Waste Management Legislation – Hong Kong Waste Charging Scheme

introduced in 2006;

Sets charges based on the quantity by weight of different wastes;

Encourages separation to dispose of inert wastes at public fill facilities.

Government Waste Disposal Facility

Type of Construction waste accepted

Charge per tonne ($HK)

Public Fill Entirely inert $27

Sorting Facilities

More than 50% inert

$100

Landfill Not more than 50% inert

$125

Outlying Island Transfer Facilities

Containing any percentage of inert waste

$125

Recommendations for South-East Queensland Legislation Use of recycled materials in new construction;

Relax policy surrounding the use of recycled materials; Allow use in non-critical structural applications; Stringent testing procedures to ensure quality;

Landfill levy; Greatly reduce the amount of waste being landfilled; Boost business for local recyclers; Provide revenue to offer rebates to contractors for applying

reduction and reuse techniques.

Recommendations for South-East Queensland Legislation Recycling awareness campaigns;

Increase awareness for recycling throughout the industry; Move away from a negative recycling mentality;

Recycling bans; Landfill ban on items suitable for recycling; Removes these items from waste streams destined for landfill; Requires contractors to source-separate recyclable materials.

Conclusion Queensland waste legislation is years behind foreign

counterparts;

Through careful planning the recommendations offered in this presentation can be realised;

Updating policy now can encourage a philosophy of reuse within the construction industry in the future.