Maximising resource use from building demolitions: UK case studies

Curran, Anthony, Williams, Ian, Kent, Andrew and Bush, Kevin (2012) Maximising resource use from building demolitions: UK case studies. In Proceedings of Crete 2012: : 3rd International Conference on Industrial and Hazardous Waste Management.

Abstract

The Construction and Demolition (C&D) Sector consumes a huge volume of resources and generates a substantial proportion of the total waste in Europe – estimates range from 33% to 49%. Currently only around half of this is recycled, despite estimates that 90% is achievable. The major barriers to improving recycling and reuse in demolition operations are the mixed and hazardous nature of materials and the established work practices – rapid demolition and site clearance, with the focus on wholesale disposal rather than material segregation and recovery. Traditionally poor measurement and reporting of resource use (water, energy and materials/waste) has made environmental assessment of demolition sites difficult. “ZeroWIN” (Towards Zero Waste in Industrial Networks) is a 5 year project running 2009-2014, including 30 partners across 10 countries in Europe. It is EC funded under the 7th Framework Programme. Zero waste demands a “whole system” approach to redesigning resource flows to minimise emissions and resource use. The zero waste concept represents a shift from the traditional industrial model in which wastes are considered the norm, to integrated systems in which everything has its use. Project ZeroWIN is both developing methodologies to move industries towards zero waste and applying the methods in pilot applications to test feasibility. ZeroWIN member Remade, a not-for-profit company operating in south east England to research and develop new markets for waste materials, is working with demolition companies to implement zero waste methods in demolition projects. In stage one, three demolition sites were fully audited to act as baseline scenarios; stage two will involve three further sites, in which improvements can be applied and measured against the baseline demolitions to demonstrate progress towards meeting the ZeroWIN project targets to increase reuse/recycling and reduce water and energy use. The objectives in these projects were to: • Identify solutions to address the issues hindering maximisation of resource recovery in demolition; • Develop an industrial network; • Test the selective demolition methods; and • Investigate to what extent the zero waste approach is feasible in a competitive market. This paper reports on the principal aspects of the zero waste approach implemented in these demolition projects: development of industrial networks for resource exchange and waste prevention, demolition techniques to maximise material segregation and recovery and timely on-site auditing and monitoring. Results from the first stage are presented, and potential improvements beyond the baseline projects are highlighted. Partners in the industrial network were identified and potential reductions in emissions, water use and waste by capturing and reusing/recycling key materials were mapped out. The pre-demolition audit to identify key materials and allow measurement of improvements, selective demolition in stages to segregate the key materials, and setting up a resource exchange platform to enable reuse/recycling are the principal means by which to improve resource management at demolition sites.

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Contributors

Author: Ian Williams

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