This document summarizes a presentation on construction and demolition waste recycling and provides legislative comparisons from Denmark, Hong Kong, and Queensland. It finds that Queensland is recycling only 42% of construction waste, compared to over 90% in Denmark and other countries. The presentation recommends that Queensland implement policies like landfill levies, recycling bans, and mandates for source separation to increase recycling rates as done successfully in other regions.

1. Construction and Demolition
Waste Recycling;
A legislative comparison for use in
Queensland policy making.
Presentation for BEB801 Capstone Project
Tom Ahern – Bachelor of Civil Engineering
Queensland University of Technology
10th June 2016

2. Index
 Introduction to construction and demolition (C&D) waste;
 History of C&D waste management and recycling;
 C&D Recycling in South-East Queensland;
 C&D Recycling in Denmark;
 C&D Recycling in Hong Kong;
 Recommendations

3. C&D Waste
 50%+ waste generated worldwide is C&D;
 Many European countries achieving 90%+ recycling;
 Other developed countries struggling to improve;
 ~95% of waste on typical construction sites can be recycled;

4. C&D Waste
 Waste management historically focused on hygienically
disposing waste;
 Historically construction activities acquired ‘unlimited’
resources and produced ‘unlimited’ waste;
 Now understood that limited resources should be conserved
and waste should be reduced;
 Ideal system uses ‘energy’ to reuse and recycle limited
resources and extend life-cycle of materials.

5. Current C&DW Recycling Climate
 Denmark/Netherlands/Germany world leaders in C&D
recycling practices;
 Lack of awareness in many developed countries such as EU
members and USA;
 Australia achieving promising results in NSW & Victoria;
 Queensland struggling with ~42% C&DW recycled.

6. 4R’s of Waste Management
 Reduce
 Reuse
 Recycle
 Recover
 Dispose

7. Construction Waste Recycling
 Typically consists of
concrete, rubble, asphalt,
brick, plaster, wood, metal
and plastic;
 Source-separation
 All materials are separated
into respective stockpiles
and reused or sent to
recyclers/landfill

8. Demolition Waste Recycling
 Includes aggregate, concrete, wood, metal, insulation and
glass;
 Usually contaminated with paints, adhesives, dirt etc.
 Selective demolition as an alternative to full demolition;
 Allows components to be disassembled and recycled before
core structure is destroyed.

9. South-East Queensland C&D
Recycling
 SEQ is largest growth area in the state;
 Only reports 42% recycling of C&D wastes where other
states are achieving 70%+;
 Many barriers including landfill fees, inferior recycled
materials and general lack of experience;
 Timber and concrete largest recycled products.

10. Waste Management Legislation -
SEQ
 Lack of policy surrounding the reduction and recycling of
construction waste;
 Waste Reduction Recycling Act;
 Waste Reduction and Recycling Strategy;
 Landfill levy introduced at $35/t then repealed;

11. Waste Management Legislation -
SEQ
 Only affects government subsidiaries and those under
government owned contracts;
 Sets target at 40% total weight of waste to be reused or
recycled;
 Requires source-separation techniques where practicable;
 Only accounts for a small section of C&D taking place.

12. Denmark C&D Recycling
 First developed after Copenhagen landfill exhaustion in 1985;
 1989 first municipal solid waste management plan enforced;
 1993 Estimated 50% of C&D waste recycled, 23%
incinerated & 27% disposed in landfill;
 By 2008 approximately 90% of C&D waste recycled, 2% via
incineration (energy recovery) & 8% disposed in landfill.

13. Denmark C&D Recycling
 Waste is managed at all levels of government;
 Environmental Protection Agency,
 Ministry of Environment and Energy,
 County policies &
 Municipality governance.
 Odense Waste Management Facilities;
 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) collection throughout Odense,
 8 Recycling stations,
 Landfilling, sorting and composting facilities.

14. Waste Management Legislation –
Denmark
 Statutory Orders
 Source-separation,
 Hazardous waste separation,
 Recycling unpolluted C&DW
 Landfill Ban
 Ban for all materials suitable
for incineration.
 Waste-to-energy facilities
accommodated influx of
waste.

15. Waste Management Legislation –
Denmark
 Landfill and incineration tax
first introduced in 1987;
 Dramatic drop in landfilling
since introduction;
 Generates over €120
million annually;
 Revenue supports recycling
processes and cleaner
technology ventures.

16. Hong Kong C&D Recycling
 Sovereign territory in China – 7.3 million residents;
 Inert waste – rock, rubble, concrete, brick, sand soil – Sent to
public filling facilities for land reclamation;
 Non-inert waste – Organic material and contaminated inert
waste – Disposed in landfill.
 Approximately 20% non-inert, 80% inert

17. Hong Kong C&D Recycling
 Adopted the 4R’s approach to construction waste
management;
 Source-separation is not widely encouraged – Only used
when contractually required;
 Top-down demolition required due to lack of space;
 Tseung Kwan O Fill Bank Recycling facilities;
 Crushing plant and sorting facilities;
 Daily capacity of 1200 tonnes of crushed aggregate.

18. Waste Management Legislation –
Hong Kong
 Waste disposal ordinance (1980) to reduce illegal dumping;
 Waste Reduction Framework Plan (1998) to promote reuse
and recycling of materials;
 2006 Off-site construction waste sorting program;
 Led to the commissioning of the Tseung Kwan O Fill Bank.
 Introduced in conjunction with Waste Charging Scheme

19. Waste Management Legislation –
Hong Kong
 Waste Charging Scheme
introduced in 2006;
 Sets charges based on the
quantity by weight of
different wastes;
 Encourages separation to
dispose of inert wastes at
public fill facilities.
Government
Waste
Disposal
Facility
Type of
Construction
waste
accepted
Charge
per
tonne
($HK)
Public Fill Entirely inert $27
Sorting
Facilities
More than
50% inert
$100
Landfill Not more than
50% inert
$125
Outlying
Island
Transfer
Facilities
Containing
any
percentage of
inert waste
$125

20. Recommendations for South-East
Queensland Legislation
 Use of recycled materials in new construction;
 Relax policy surrounding the use of recycled materials;
 Allow use in non-critical structural applications;
 Stringent testing procedures to ensure quality;
 Landfill levy;
 Greatly reduce the amount of waste being landfilled;
 Boost business for local recyclers;
 Provide revenue to offer rebates to contractors for applying
reduction and reuse techniques.

21. Recommendations for South-East
Queensland Legislation
 Recycling awareness campaigns;
 Increase awareness for recycling throughout the industry;
 Move away from a negative recycling mentality;
 Recycling bans;
 Landfill ban on items suitable for recycling;
 Removes these items from waste streams destined for landfill;
 Requires contractors to source-separate recyclable materials.

22. Conclusion
 Queensland waste legislation is years behind foreign
counterparts;
 Through careful planning the recommendations offered in
this presentation can be realised;
 Updating policy now can encourage a philosophy of reuse
within the construction industry in the future.