TITLE:
Approaching Sustainability of Construction and Demolition Waste Using Zero Waste Concept
AUTHORS:
Sally M. Elgizawy, Salah M. El-Haggar, Khaled Nassar
KEYWORDS:
Sustainable Solid Waste Management, C & D Waste, Recycling, Zero Waste Concept
JOURNAL NAME:
Low Carbon Economy,
Vol.7 No.1,
March
10,
2016
ABSTRACT: Construction and demolition waste constitutes a huge part of the solid
waste management system and is continuous on the rise because of the booming
housing and building industry worldwide. Construction and demolition waste is
not clear in its definition; it differs according to the location and type of
the project which make it complicated to find a generic solution to
construction and demolition waste management problems. A comprehensive list of
construction and demolition waste stream was formulated and used in the course
of this study. A thorough literature review was conducted to study the end life
of each of the components of the construction and demolition waste stream and
their reuse or recycling option. The conventional treatment of construction and
demolition waste which is dumping them in landfills was presented and its
negative impact on the environmental and socio-economic aspects and on
sustainability highlighted making recycling the most viable option. The study
aims at having a clearer picture of C & D waste classification methods, its
components and their end of life treatment and evaluating them through the
lenses of zero waste management. Zero waste is a way that promotes changing
lifestyle and, ideologies to reach the ultimate goal of sustainable development
through eliminating waste and having materials that circulate in closed loops.
Applying zero waste concept to manage construction and demolition waste would
be a great improvement in waste management as it promotes the reuse of
resources, preserves the environment and is considered a step towards a
sustainable environment.