Construction and demolition waste (C&DW) in India: generation rate and implications of C&DW recycling

• Published in: International journal of construction management 2021-03, Vol.21 (3), p.261-270
• Main Authors: Jain, Sourabh, Singhal, Shaleen, Jain, Nikunj Kumar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Construction and demolition waste; energy savings; material flow analysis; recycling
• ISSN: 1562-3599; 2331-2327
• DOI: 10.1080/15623599.2018.1523300

Construction and demolition waste (C&DW) management is gaining attention from policy makers in India. This article estimates C&DW generation from urban building, rural building, and non-building sectors in India and calculates material, energy, and emissions savings from C&DW recycling. The method used in this study is top down up material flow analysis approach. The results indicate that India generated between 112 and 431 million tonnes of C&DW in 2016 depending upon the assumptions, which are orders of magnitude higher than official records indicate. Although per capita waste generation from rural area is less than urban areas, rural areas as a whole generate more waste than urban areas, as rural population is still over two times the urban population in India. Additionally, it was estimated that formal C&DW recycling can save upto 2-8% of natural minerals, such as sand and aggregate in urban areas, energy and emissions savings were negative, implying that recycled C&DW materials are likely to be more resource and environmentally intensive as compared to natural materials.