What do we do about construction waste?
What's the problem?
The construction and demolition (C&D) industry is one of the largest waste producing industries in New Zealand. It is estimated that C&D waste may represent up to 50% of all waste generated in New Zealand.
In the Queenstown Lakes District, each new house construction generates up to five tonnes of waste, which is the equivalent of three to four standard skip bins that end up in landfill. This volume increases significantly when demolition is involved. Recent analysis observed an average of 226 tonnes of construction and demolition waste being thrown away per week at the Victoria Flats landfill. This C&D waste is estimated to account for approximately 30% of all material sent to landfill in the district.
Why is so much waste produced? Oftentimes it comes down to cost. Many building companies are under the pump, working on fixed price contracts with their subcontractors working on an hourly rate, so anything that eats into the building company's margins (like sorting waste) is not a priority.
Where do we want to be?
The goal is to have zero waste building sites. At the 2019 Summit, 100% of the participants in the Building Better survey thought C&D waste was a problem. The wasted energy in producing materials for landfill is contributing to our warming planet, using up valuable resources, and at the end of the day the consumer is paying for materials that end up in skips.
How will we get there?
Applying the Waste Hierarchy is a good place to start, even the simplified version of reduce, reuse and recycle will get us a long way in decreasing the amount of valuable materials that are currently sent to landfill.
Reduce - produce less waste in the first place. While C&D waste is actually created by contractors on site, the decisions made during the design and planning phases have a major influence on the type and amount of waste generated.
Reuse - reusing existing buildings and materials as much as possible in your project is the next best way to reduce waste. This includes materials removed during site clearance and demolition, scrap generated on site and materials salvaged from other jobs.
Recycle - resources that are left over or have reached the end of their useful life should be recycled where possible. Separate materials that can be recycled, and dispose of other materials safely.
Want to find out more?
Watch how the Queenstown Lakeview Site recently achieved more than 86% diversion from landfill.
We are running Construction Waste Workshops as part of the Wao Summit 2022.
Source: https://wanakaapp.nz/news/news/what-do-we-do-about-construction-waste-wao-blog?id=610af67fd7ce550416002480
