Construction and demolition (C&D) waste is a major environmental concern. It accounts for more than 20% of all waste generated in the United States and 12% globally. The construction industry has a significant impact on the environment through its production of hazardous materials such as asbestos and lead paint, which can lead to health problems like mesothelioma. It also produces large amounts of non-hazardous waste such as concrete, asphalt shingles, lumber and glass that take up space in landfills or incinerators. Lets find out What are the impacts of construction and demolition waste on the environment and how to reduce its adverse effects.
What is construction waste?
Construction waste is the waste that is generated during the construction of a building. Construction waste may be generated at every stage of the erection process, including while clearing land before erection starts (clearing vegetation, soil or rocks), digging foundations and excavating trenches for pipes and cables; laying foundations in concrete; constructing walls with bricks or blocks; installing doors and windows in frames; installing electrical wiring; painting walls; laying carpeting etc.
Construction waste can be divided into two categories: inert and non-inert waste. Inert construction wastes include items such as concrete slabs left over from foundation work on houses, masonry blocks used to build retaining walls around property lots, wood pallets from shipping crates etc. The largest component of an inert building raising material is soil removed during excavation processes such as road works or new home building sites – this soil material contains heavy metals but does not pose an environmental risk because it does not contain much organic matter which would normally decompose into methane gas (a greenhouse gas).
Source of construction waste
Construction waste is generated at every stage of the building process, from the first site preparation to demolition. Construction waste includes materials like wood, metal, plastic, and paper products. Erection waste that is removed or salvaged at any point during a project is known as “debris”. The term “construction debris” refers to construction scrap that has been separated into different categories such as concrete rubble and asphalt millings (small pieces of pavement). Erection debris can be recycled or used in other ways after it has been collected.
What is demolition waste?
Demolition waste is any material that’s been removed from a building or structure or the site of a new construction project. It can include items like bricks, concrete, and other masonry products, metals, wood chips and shavings, plastic pipe and tubing, and even electronics.
Source of demolition waste
Demolition waste is generated during the destruction phase of a building. This typically involves tearing down structures that are no longer in use, such as houses and skyscrapers. The process of demolishing buildings can generate many types of scraps, including concrete, metal and wood. These materials are often reused or recycled to reduce their impacts on the environment as much as possible.
Components of Construction and demolition waste
Construction and demolition waste (C&D) is one of the most significant components of municipal waste. In fact, it accounts for about 10% of the total amount of scrap generated in the United States.
There are many different types of erection and destruction waste, including:
- -Asphalt shingles
- -Backfill
- -Bricks/blocks/brickbats
- -Ceramic tile
- -Concrete blocks
- -Demolition debris
- -Drywall/gypsum board/sheetrock
- -Electrical fixtures and wiring (may contain lead or asbestos)
- -Glass bottles and jars (may contain lead or cadmium)
- -Gypsum drywall (may contain asbestos)
- -Lighting fixtures (may contain mercury)
Impacts of construction waste on the environment?
When you think of construction waste, you probably think about broken bricks and damaged pipes. But there is more to construction waste than just those materials. Construction waste also includes things like wood scraps, plastic sheets and leftover concrete from building sites. It can be difficult to recycle or reuse these materials because they are not always clearly marked as being from a specific company or project.
The biggest problem caused by construction waste is that it usually ends up in landfills instead of being recycled or reused. This means that all of this material will stay there forever! Landfills take up space that could be used for other things such as parks or playing fields, but they also have negative effects on our surroundings: soil erosion (when rain washes away topsoil), water pollution (when rain washes away chemicals), air pollution (when gases leak out).
Impacts of demolition waste on the environment
- All construction and destruction waste is managed in a manner that minimizes its effect on the surroundings.
- Dangers to health and safety may be associated with some types of waste, such as asbestos or lead-based paint. It is important to handle these materials properly.
- Asbestos can cause cancer if inhaled. The material must be disposed of properly so that it does not pose a danger to anyone who might come into contact with it later on, whether at work or at home in the community where you live or work. Lead-based paint may expose children to high levels of lead dust when they play on surfaces covered by peeling paint chips and flakes. Lead dust can also be tracked into homes through shoe soles, car tires, wheelbarrow tires and even lawn mower blades containing embedded lead particles from treated wood surfaces including fences or decks painted decades ago before federal regulations went into effect requiring manufacturers use non-toxic alternatives (EPA).
How to reduce construction and demolition waste?
There are many ways to reduce construction waste. Following are some of the key methods:
- Reuse- Reusing construction materials instead of throwing them away means less need for new building materials which saves money both for companies that sell them as well as those who buy them so they can build their own homes or buildings elsewhere without having to worry about where all those old ones went; In fact, it was found that for every ton of construction and destruction waste reused as a building material, about 3.5 tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) can be saved.
- Recycle – Recycling of construction and destruction waste is one of the ways of reducing the adverse effects on the surroundings. It is an important way to reduce the amount of waste entering landfills and incinerators, where they cause pollution.
Recycling of construction and destruction waste also promotes economic growth and job creation. Recyclable materials include paper, aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastic containers, cardboard boxes, and scrap metal.
Recycling construction and destruction waste also benefit the surroundings because it reduces the amount of pollution produced by landfills or incinerators.
Also Read- Why We Should Recycle.
- Incineration- Incineration is one of the ways of reducing construction and destruction waste. The process of incineration involves burning waste materials at high temperatures in order to reduce them into small pieces.
These pieces are then disposed off in landfills or used for road construction. The impact of incineration on the environment is minimal if it is conducted in an environmentally friendly manner.
However, if not done properly, it can lead to air pollution and even harm the public health of people living nearby.
- Landfilling – Landfilling is one of the ways of reducing construction and destruction waste. It involves burying the waste in a landfill, which can be a sanitary or hazardous waste site. Landfilling has been around since the beginning of time and it is still used today because it is considered to be a cheap way of disposing of waste.
Landfilling affects the surroundings by polluting them with harmful chemicals from the construction and demolition process, such as lead paint, asbestos, and heavy metals. The chemicals can leak into groundwater or soil, contaminating both sources of drinking water for humans and animals alike.
They also release greenhouse gases into the air which causes global warming, which leads to other problems like rising sea levels due to melting ice caps (Global Warming: Causes & Effects).
Despite these disadvantages, landfilling remains popular due to its low cost compared with other alternatives such as recycling or incineration which are more expensive options but offer greater benefits for our planet’s future health and survival!
More ways to reduce the impacts of construction and demolition waste on the environment
There are many more ways to reduce demolition waste, including:
- Reuse the material. This is an obvious way to reuse and recycle materials on a site. If you have scrap metal in your Dumpster, give it away for free or sell it for a profit. You can also donate usable building materials and appliances to charities or neighborhood organizations like Habitat For Humanity, who will use them to build houses for low-income families in need of affordable housing options.
- Give the material away at local community centers or schools; this will help keep resources out of landfills while simultaneously helping people who need them most by giving them access to building supplies that may not be available elsewhere in their area.
- Recycle some materials if possible (if they’re not toxic). Again, this depends on what’s being demolished—for example, concrete slabs can be crushed down into gravel which can then be used for other purposes such as landscaping; wood frames can also be recycled by turning them into new lumber products like furniture or cabinets which could then go back into building homes again.
Conclusion
With so much construction waste, it is important that we take the necessary steps to keep our surroundings safe. We as an individual and also all the construction companies should think seriously about the impacts of construction and demolition waste on the environment. The problem of disposal of waste can be addressed by increased recycling efforts and improved waste management practices. However, even if these things are done well, there will still be waste produced from demolition processes that cannot be recycled or reused without harming the environment. It is therefore imperative that we find alternative methods for handling this type of debris in an eco-friendly manner so as not let it harm our planet any further than it already has been harmed.
