Investigation of waste diversion rates in the construction and demolition sector in Australia

Abstract

PurposeWaste diversion rate (WDR) is a key indicator of effective waste management and circular economy. However, it has not yet been widely used in the construction and demolition waste (C&DW) sector. This study aims to promote the application of WDR as an effective measure for waste management through the investigation of the current status of C&DW diversion in the Australian construction industry.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method approach, which combines a desk study and a case study of 12 residential projects was used in this study. Data retrieved from the National Waste Database (NWD) were used for the descriptive analysis.FindingsThe analysis of the national waste data revealed that the national average WDR in Australia is 64%. WDR varies based on material types and across the states. The analysis facilitated the forecasting of the possible future trend of waste diversion in Australia. The studied projects from two states in Australia presented slightly different results. Most of the waste stream, except mixed waste, presented above 95% of WDR in each project.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the studied projects showed a higher recycling rate, this study claims that achieving a higher rate of recovery by diverting the waste could not be assured unless accurate estimation is carried out with reliable and verifiable data. Lack of reliable data is considered as the limitation of this study. While the scope of descriptive analysis of waste generation and diversion covers the whole country, the case study analysis is limited to the states of New South Wales and Victoria.Originality/valueThe study highlights the significance of WDR in assessing the performance of effective waste management in the C&DW sector. WDR is a comprehensive measure that takes the output of the waste life cycle into account for benchmarking waste management. The results provide a critique of the current practices of waste management and the essence of the consistent, transparent and verifiable waste data to enable accurate WDR estimation in Australia. The outcome is useful for waste managers and policymakers in developing potential waste management strategies and C&DW specific legislation for building a more ecologically sustainable industry.

A Review of Circular Economy Studies in Developed Countries and Its Potential Adoption in Developing Countries

“…This situation has then pushed manufacturers locally to change their process methods and practices, thus transitioning to a more sustainable approach like circular economy. Furthermore, the principle of circular economy has gained large acceptance in the last few years and has been applied to several industrial sectors like the agri-food sector [23], the mining and extraction sector [24] as well as the construction and demolition sector [25]. The country has also invested in infrastructures and technologies to convert recyclable items like plastics into several other useful products.…”

Construction and demolition waste management in Australia: A mini-review

“…Despite some inconsistencies in waste data among different jurisdictions, these statistics provide an understanding of the Australian C&D waste generation and recycling, encourage public environmental awareness, and support the policy-making of governments. Ratnasabapathy et al (2020) suggested that C&D waste data reporting should be made mandatory, starting from the project level, to assure the reliability and consistency of the national waste data.…”

Conceptualising the Circular Economy Potential of Construction and Demolition Waste: An Integrative Literature Review

“…As can be seen from Table 2, they are defined in a general fashion like the United States. This simplicity in definitions at a national level does not correspond to the significance of the CDW material in Australia, as the country generates more than 20 million tons annually [9,78]. 1 for CDW in Australia, China, the European Union, India, the United Nations, and the United States.…”

“…Therefore, conceptualising the circular economy potential of CDW materials is of great importance for the Australian construction industry as it may help to divert millions of tons of material resources from landfills, which then can be sorted and measured accordingly to support the circular economy indicators. The significance of this concept is underpinned by the high landfilling rate in Australia (27%), which means that approximately 5.5 million tons of material resource potential is wasted annually, threatening the space in the major Australian landfills [9,82].…”

“…In the United States, more than 600 million tons of CDW materials were produced in 2018, of which approximately 30% ended up in landfills [8]. The landfilling rates are also significantly high in smaller CDW-generating countries, such as India, Brazil, and Australia, at 70-90%, 92%, and 27%, respectively [9][10][11].…”