Page 138 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

134 6. Life cycle thinking for sustainable development in the building industry

recycling plants. At the same time, the United Kingdom has adopted a landfill tax on con-
struction waste, and the annual landfill tax has gradually increased, which has driven the de-
velopment of CDW recycling technology in the United Kingdom.
In Australia, the largest components of the CDW stream, and the most commonly recycled
materials in Australia are concrete, bricks, asphalt, soil, timber, and ferrous metals, because
they are usually demolished in large quantities and have an existing market for reuse and
recycling (e.g., concrete, bricks, and asphalt), or they have a relatively high commercial value
(e.g., metals) (EPHC, 2010). At the same time, Australia has also enacted some laws and reg-
ulations to strengthen the management and recycling of construction waste.
Japan was the first country in the Asian region to formulate regulations on construction
waste. Through continuous supplementation and improvement, it has formed a legal system
that is in line with its national conditions. Meanwhile, Japan has established a recycling sys-
tem for construction waste, developed classification and treatment technologies, and
implemented a zero emission strategy for construction waste, greatly promoting the recovery
of construction waste, with the recovery rate increasing from 42% in 1995 to 97% in 2011
(Pu and Tang, 2012). In Japan, the utilization rate of waste concrete blocks is high, and it is
generally used as aggregate for asphalt concrete after crushing and separation. For discarded
wood, according to its quality, it can be used as papermaking raw materials, hot pressing
plates, fuels, etc. About 25% of the sludge produced goes to sanitary landfills, 65% inciner-
ated, and only about 9% is used for agriculture (Zhang and Sun, 2018). For waste plastics,
except for a small part of recycling, the rest are incinerated.
The United States is also one of the countries with the highest construction waste produc-
tion. In the United States, 30% of CDW will be transported to landfills for landfill. In an EPA
report, there is a quick guide to reducing waste from building demolition, allowing construc-
tion waste to be sorted out and recycled. There are also some promotion policies for the
recycling of construction waste in the United States, such as:
(1) the government has clearly stipulated the requirements for recycling of construction
waste, including the requirements and proportions of material recycling, the specific
requirements of green buildings, etc.;
(2) establishing market incentives, including tax relief, recycling subsidies, tax rebates,
etc.; and
(3) providing education to construction companies and the general public to improve
awareness of construction waste recycling.
Most states and local governments in the United States encourage enterprises and the pub-
lic to recycle construction waste. There are also national projects; for example, the US Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency, have created a web page for solid waste disposal to provide
information on the recycling of construction waste in demolition, renovation, and new con-
struction projects to stakeholders.
Currently, China’s recycling of construction waste is based mainly on inert construction
waste. According to the Ministry of Construction in 2003, “urban construction garbage
and waste residue management regulations (revised)” regulation, according to the source
classification, CDW can be divided into land excavation, the excavation of roads, old building
demolition, construction and building materials production, mainly using sediment, crushed
stone, waste mortar, brick and tile fragments, concrete, asphalt, plastic, scrap metal, waste