Construction industry waste is 20 million tons per year

In the last two decades, Australia’s construction industry has grown significantly. The population growth has created a need for more property development, improved public transport, and better infrastructure. Construction and demolition have resulted in a significant increase in waste.

In 2017, the construction and demolition industry generated 20,4 million tons of waste, including for road and railway maintenance, land excavation, and other activities. The trash generated by these activities typically includes bricks and concrete, metals, wood, plasterboard, Asphalt, rock, soil, and plasterboard.

In Australia, between 2016 and 2017, over 6.7MT of this waste was disposed of in landfills. The remainder is recycled, illegally disposed of, reprocessed, re-used, or stockpiled.

Sending waste to landfills is not the best option, as it has high environmental, social, and economic costs.

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What’s more, China introduced its “National Sword Policy” and restricted waste imports, banning certain foreign waste materials and setting stricter limits on contamination. So Australia’s need for solutions to landfill waste has become urgent.

China is the primary end market for recycled materials imported from Australia and other nations. China imported US$18 Billion worth of recyclables in 2016.

The new policy of Australia’s waste and resource-recovery industry has mixed implications. It has shut down the Chinese market for some of Australia’s waste, but it is encouraging the development of a domestic Australian market for salvaged or recycled waste.

Some issues prevent the effective management of Australia’s construction and demolition debris.

Read more: A Crisis Too Big to waste: China’s recycling ban calls for a long-term rethink in Australia.

The producers should take more responsibility.

Levies are the most effective way to reduce waste going to landfills in Australia. In recent years, experts have questioned the effectiveness of levies. They argue that smarter strategies are needed to manage construction and demolition waste. The experts say that the landfill levy imposed has not met its intended goals, such as a decrease in waste disposal and an increase in recycling activities.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a strategy that Australia should adopt.

The concept was born in Germany in 1991. This was due to a shortage of landfills. In 1991, Germany’s municipal waste stream was composed of 30% packaging and 50% volume.

Germany has introduced the “German Packaging Ordinance” to slow down landfill filling. The law held manufacturers accountable for their packaging waste. The law required manufacturers to either collect their packaging waste from distributors and consumers or to pay the national packaging management organization for collection.

Australia does not have any EPR regulations or specific legal instruments for construction and demolition waste.

Waste piled up at a demolition site at Little A’Beckett Street, Melbourne, in April 2019. Salman Shooshtarian, the Author, provided

Some voluntary approaches have made a difference. This includes the National Products Stewardship Act 2011, New South Wales’ Extended Producer Responsibility Priority Statement 2010, and Western Australia’s Policy Statement on Extended Producer Responsibilities.

These schemes have encouraged industry participation in the national integrated management of certain types of waste, such as e-waste, oil and batteries, fluorescent lights, etc. Voluntary programs for industry also include materials like PVC, carpet, gypsum, and waffle pods.

Read more: Indonesia has sent Australia’s recycling home – it’s time to clean up our act.

For instance, since 2002, the Vinyl Council of Australia has voluntarily agreed to apply EPR principles. Armstrong Australia, the world’s largest manufacturer of resilient PVC flooring products, collects the offcuts and end-of-life flooring materials for recycling and processing into a new product. These materials would otherwise have been sent to landfill.

CSR Gyprock, for example, uses a take-back scheme to collect demolition materials and offcuts. After installation, CSR Gyprock’s recycling contractor charges the building contractor a reasonable fee.

Connecting industries

But to extend producer responsibility sustainably, there are a few challenges.

All those in the supply chain, including those who produce materials and supplies, those in construction or demolition, as well as those who recover, recycle, and dispose of waste, should be included.

Our goal is to link organizations and industries in the country to trade waste instead of sending it to landfills.