The construction industry is regarded as one of the largest generators of solid waste in the world. These large amounts of construction and demolition waste generated by continuous construction activities have harmful effects on the environment. China is the largest producer of construction and demolition waste, with an annual generation of 2.4 billion tonnes. Moreover, with the continued development of their construction industry, the total volume of construction and demolition waste generated in China is forecasted to reach 3.96 billion tonnes by 2020. However, without proper management, a significant amount of construction and demolition waste has inevitably occupied land resources. In the current age of enhanced environmental awareness, transformation to sustainable management in the construction sector is needed. Despite the increasing awareness of recycling in industry, the average recovery rate of construction and demolition waste in China is only approximately 5%. Few developed countries have a sustainable society with an orderly, reasonable, and effective construction and demolition waste management system. However, as most of the waste in China is directly dumped or landfilled, it lags far behind these high-performance countries.
The objectives of this study were to obtain information about the current status of construction and demolition waste management in China from comparative analyses and case studies, and to identify the obstacles to the promotion of recycling. Recovery rates of construction and demolition waste were collected from 35 countries, and the existing policies, standards, and official documents at a national level in China and seven selected countries with high performance (including Japan, South Korea, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, and the United Kingdom) were reviewed. The comparative analysis revealed the reasons for China’s unsatisfactory performance. These reasons included the following: (1) inadequate guidance on recycling, (2) an underdeveloped recycling market, (3) incomplete knowledge of stakeholders’ responsibilities, (4) ineffective cooperation among governing bodies, (5) a lack of penalty for other stakeholders, and (6) an ineffective supervision system.
Few studies have been performed to evaluate construction and demolition waste management performance of different Chinese cities, although case studies have been performed on specific cities. In the present study, site visits to 10 different Chinese cities were conducted: Shanghai (Direct-administered municipalities), Hangzhou (Zhejiang Province), Suzhou (Jiangsu Province), Chongqing (Direct-administered municipalities), Chengdu (Sichuan Province), Xi’an (Shaanxi Province), Changsha (Hunan Province), Shenzhen (Guangdong Province), Nanjing (Jiangsu Province), and Zhoukou (Henan Province). Construction and demolition waste management performance, as well as the obstacles for waste management, varies among these Chinese cities. These obstacles included the following: (1) a lack of sources of construction and demolition waste, (2) a lack of guidance on the application of building materials recycled from waste, (3) a lack of land use for fixed industries, (4) a lack of precise estimations of the waste amount and distribution, (5) a lack of guidance on the classification of construction and demolition waste, (6) unrestrictive landfilling, (7) inconsistent cooperation among different official governments, (8) inadequate research on the use of recycled products and waste separation, and (9) an incomplete waste traceability system.
If these obstacles are more fully understood, recommendations can be provided to enhance construction and demolition waste management in China. Policymakers in China can consider the following suggestions: (1) ensuring the stability of construction and demolition waste sources; (2) precise estimation of waste generation and distribution; (3) an effective waste tracing system; (4) improvements in related technology; (5) expanding financial incentives; (6) prioritising the recycling of waste and promoting waste reduction; (7) completion of waste classification and relevant standards; (8) strict landfill bans; (9) consistent cooperation among governmental departments; and (10) expansion of the recycling market
