Construction and Demolition Waste Management in Australia Final Industry Report, Project 1.65

A holistic national approach is required to handle the growing issue of construction and demolition (C&D) waste in Australia. Through this project, the discrepancies and inconsistencies related to C&D waste management regulations in each jurisdiction were identified, and recommendations for harmonising reforms were made accordingly. The specific objectives were: 1. Review regulations and their application in practice in different jurisdictions governing C&D waste management, identifying discrepancies and making recommendations for reforms. 2. Develop a consistent approach to define and measure C&D waste across different jurisdictions. 3. Identify economic factors that govern the disposal and reduce/reuse/recycling of C&D waste. 4. Conduct a feasibility study on creating a marketplace to connect organisations and industries across jurisdictions for trading waste. 5. Identify opportunities to integrate supply chains and develop an integrated supply chain lifecycle model espousing a cradle-to-cradle approach. Comprehensive analysis of literature, regulations, policies and best management practice guidelines are the basis for results presented here. Notably, desktop research focused on the regulatory framework in eight jurisdictions of Australia was conducted to understand their similarities and inconsistencies. According to this review, several recommendations were made that are both national and state-specific. Furthermore, economic barriers and enablers towards the establishment of a domestic C&D waste market were explored, and a set of recommendations were proposed accordingly. Subsequently, a comprehensive review was performed to know the Australian and worldwide experience in the establishment and performance of the C&D waste market. Furthermore, an economic evaluation was conducted based on the mathematical modelling of various C&D waste management techniques (landfilling vs. recycling). In this evaluation, the economic performance of these waste management methods was analysed and compared, while keeping associated costs in mind. Next, a case study approach was adopted to analyse and identify opportunities for reducing C&D waste throughout the supply chain of five typical construction materials — brick, concrete, glass, timber and steel. For each case study, a conceptual model, called LowMor (Low of Waste More of Resources) was developed to picture the application of cradle to cradle approach to C&D waste management in the light of circular economy principles. Lastly, a survey was conducted to capture the perception of main stakeholders of C&D waste management on the relevant issues and reforms. The survey captured the responses from 132 participants who were based across Australia. Participants were active in the construction industry, waste management and recovery industry, waste collectors, designers and the construction material manufacturing industry at the time of the survey. An important finding from the study was to seriously consider the development of a domestic marketplace for trading C&D waste in Australia. Overall, the project findings contribute to Australia’s understanding of effective management of C&D waste by providing a clear picture of C&D waste state of play and how it can improve. The findings can be further analysed and used by policymakers and whoever has an interest in C&D waste to better plan for innovative and efficient C&D waste management resulting in the further diversion from landfilling.