Construction and demolition waste management in China through the 3R principle

Abstract

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) accounts for 30% to 40% of the total amount of waste in China. CDW is usually randomly dumped or disposed in landfills and the average recycling rate of CDW in China is only about 5%. Considering there is big challenge in adoption of circular economy in CDW industry in China while related research is still limited, we conduct the CDW management analysis through 3R principle. Existing policies and management situations were investigated and analyzed based on the reduction, reuse and recycle principles. Results reveal that primary barriers of reducing CDW in China include lack of building design standard for reducing CDW, low cost for CDW disposal and inappropriate urban planning. Barriers to reuse CDW include lack of guidance for effective CDW collection and sorting, lack of knowledge and standard for reused CDW, and an underdeveloped market for reused CDW. As for recycling of CDW, key challenges are identified as ineffective management system, immature recycling technology, underdeveloped market for recycled CDW products and immature recycling market operation. Proposals to improve the current situation based on 3R principle are also proposed, including designing effective circular economy model, reinforcing the source control of CDW, adopting innovative technologies and market

Current trends in economy, sustainable development, and energy: a circular economy view

“…Although covering more complex topics, the authors have tried to write the papers in an understandable way. The issue as a whole enhanced from a practical view of the CE goals of reduce, reuse and recycle extensively defended academic literature in the last years (Yuan et al 2006, Yong 2007, Yellishetty et al 2011, Samiha 2013, Ghisellini et al 2016, Schandl et al 2016, Ahmadi 2017, Geissdoerfer et al 2017, Huang et al 2018, Preston and Carr 2018, Bruel et al 2019.…”

“…Although there is no commonly accepted definition of CE so far, the core of CE is the closed flow of materials and the use of raw materials and energy through multiple phases (Gan et al 2013). The '3R' principles-reduction, reuse, and recycling of materials and energy-are often cited to describe the three possible approaches in practice (the goals of reduce, reuse, and especially recycle have become the only acceptable ways of disposing of waste (Yong 2007, Yellishetty et al 2011, Samiha 2013, Ahmadi 2017, Huang et al 2018. This concept has been pursued by many countries' environmental policy makers as a potential strategy to solve existing environmental problems (Preston and Carr 2018).…”

Extra-Ordinary Solutions for Useful Smart Living

“…The reference scenario related to sustainability is defined by the UNI 11277 standard and by the UNI PdR13 1 and its integration with CAM, 2 the relationship between energy saving and comfort, and the awareness in the use of resources provided by the principle of the 3Rs (reduction, reuse, recycling) (Huanga et al 2018;Islam et al 2016).…”

Investigation into Creep Characteristics and Model of Recycled Construction and Demolition Waste Used in Embankment Filler

“…There were 1.5 billion tons of CDW generated in 2015, and the output of CDW is increasing every year. CDW not only occupies a large amount of land resources, but during the process of stacking and landfilling, leachate is generated due to the erosion of rainwater and the soaking of surface water and groundwater, resulting in the serious pollution of water resources and a reduction in soil quality [1]. At the same time, behind the large-scale construction and improvement of infrastructure, there is an unfavorable situation in which construction materials are in short supply.…”