Construction and Demolition Waste

The construction industry has long been regarded as one of the major emitters of GHG, along with massive amounts of waste generation, water and air pollution, impacting not only the environment but also people’s health and wellbeing. It is widely accepted today that the construction sector plays a significant role in India’s infrastructure and economic development, while waste minimization and effective waste management has emerged as an equally important developmental factor to be considered. 

Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste comes from activities such as constructing and demolishing buildings and civil infrastructures and consists of concrete, bricks, wood, glass, metals and plastic. C&D waste makes up a large part of total solid waste production in the world, mostly being dumped in landfills. Due to rapid urbanization, C&D waste management becomes increasingly important. In fact, India’s construction sector is projected to grow at a rate of 7-8% over the next 10 years. It is estimated that over 70% of the buildings to exist by 2030 have not yet been built.

 

Good planning and designing at the very beginning of a construction project allows to identify recyclable materials and better management in order to minimize environmental hazards and health risks. GIZ under the Climate Smart Cities Project is working with the partner cities to improve planning of C&D waste management through better communications systems, training on quantification, categorization and enhanced reporting procedures. 

A variety of capacity building activities on C&D waste have been conducted in partnership with NIUA and DiFU. Additionally, a guideline for city-level C&D waste quantification was also developed. For Bhubaneswar, a gap analysis report along with recommendations was prepared. Other technical support such as, review of bylaw and review of tender document for C&D waste management facility is also extended to cities as part of the CSC project.