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bioweb.sungrant.org » Technical » Biomass Resources » Urban Biomass Resources » Construction and Demolition Wastes

Construction and Demolition Wastes	Printer Friendly

The construction of new buildings and structures and the renovation, remodeling, and demolition of existing buildings and structures generate a substantial amount of waste materials. Some of this material is recycled, but most is disposed of - typically in Construction and Demolition (C&D) landfills or Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) landfills. The composition of C&D is variable and depends on the type of activity. Wood is usually the largest component of construction and renovation wastes, while concrete is usually the largest component of demolition wastes. Construction wastes can be more easily sorted at the generation site (source separation), while demolition wastes are more difficult to sort. Additionally, construction wood wastes are often cleaner and less contaminated than demolition wastes, and thus are more readily useful for bioenergy and bioproduct uses. Renovation wastes are intermediate (to construction and demolition wastes) in that remodeling activities often include both new construction and demolition or replacement of existing materials.   Construction and demolition data is limited and often of questionable quality. According to an EPA study (Franklin and Associates, 1998), an estimated 135.5 million tons of C&D waste was generated in 1996 (table 1). The study estimated that 20-30% of the C&D debris generated in 1996 was recovered and recycled, with concrete, asphalt, metals, and wood being the materials most frequently recovered. The study estimated that at the time, there were about 500 wood processing facilities receiving wood material from C&D wastes.                           McKeever (2003) estimated a total of 9 million tons of construction and renovation wood wastes and 27.4 million tons of demolition wood wastes were generated in the U.S. in 2001. Of these quantities, he estimated that 6.9 million tons of construction and renovation wood waste and 11.2 million tons of demolition wood wastes are available for bioenergy use. Falk and McKeever (2004) estimated that 10.5 million metric tons of construction wood waste and 25.2 million metric tons of demolition wood waste were generated in 2002, and that 7.8 and 8.7 million metric tons of construction and demolition wood wastes, respectively, could be available for bioenergy. The estimated construction wastes include renovation and remodeling wastes (5.6 million metric tons generated and 3.8 million metric tons available). Construction and renovation waste quantities are estimated by applying wood waste factors (i.e., pounds of wood per square foot) to the average square footage of single and multi-family residences. Demolition waste quantities are estimated as a function of per capita C&D generation rates. Neither study estimates wood waste prices, and both studies limit the available quantities to those not currently recovered and recycled.   Bush et al. (1997) surveyed C&D landfills and collected wood disposal and recycling data - primarily for pallets, but including some other wood information for 1995. The data is somewhat dated, but provides a regional (rather than a single national) breakdown of the amount of wood contained in C&D and the recycling rates. Examples of regional analysis that include information on total C&D waste generated include the Northeast Waste Management Officials Association study (NEWMOA, 2005).   Few studies attempt to estimate MSW wood waste prices. The Antares Group (1999) estimated a U.S. total of 6.2 million wet tons of construction wood waste and 7.9 million wet tons of demolition wood wastes are available annually at delivered prices of less than $4.00/Btu. Walsh et al. (2000) estimated that 36.8 million dry tons of urban wood wastes (combined MSW, construction/ demolition, and yard trimmings) could be available at a delivered price of $30/dt.   Walsh (2006) estimated county level supply curves for residential and non-residential C&D wood wastes and for residential renovation wastes for the years 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020, and 2025. Residential construction waste quantities were estimated for single family and multi-family housing, using total housing starts and the distribution of size (square feet) within each category. For non-residential construction wood wastes, Walsh used total expenditures and average cost (per square foot) factors to estimate total square footage. Average waste wood generated (per square foot) factors were applied to calculate total quantities of construction wood wastes generated.  Similarly, residential renovation wood waste quantities were estimated using expenditures for major renovation categories (such as kitchen and bath remodels, adding a deck, etc.) and average cost (per square foot) factors. Demolition wastes were estimated using data on total C&D wastes landfilled and regional estimates of the composition of the wastes. An estimated 18.6 million dry tons of construction and renovation wood wastes and 18.5 million dry tons of demolition wastes were generated in the year 2000.   Future quantities of construction and demolition waste were estimated as a function housing starts, housing age distribution, and population. Renovation wastes were estimated as a function of the population age structure (middle age persons tend to remodel an existing home, rather than build a new home). Unlike most studies that assume recycled wood materials are unavailable for bioenergy use, this study estimates prices that would need to be paid to attract wood resources away from their current uses to bioenergy uses. The estimated prices are a function of sorting costs (mixed and source separated by waste stream type), net tipping fees (fee received, minus post-sorting disposal costs for contaminated wood), the value of other products resulting from sorting (i.e., concrete, drywall, metal, glass, plastic), and a rough approximation of the profitability of existing uses of the wood material. The analysis has significant data and methodology limitations and represents a crude approximation of potential MSW wood supplies. Estimated supplies of wood wastes for several price levels are contained in table 2. Small quantities of C&D wood wastes are available in nearly every county, with greatest concentrations near highly populated areas.

References
Antares Group, Biomass Residue Supply Curves for the United States, June 1999. Bush, Robert J., Vijay S. Reddy, and Phil Araman, Construction and Demolition Solid Waste Landfills and Wood Pallets–What’s Happening in the United States, Pallet Enterprise, March 1997, pp. 27-31. Falk, Robert H. and David B. McKeever, April 2004, Recovering wood for reuse and recycling: a United States perspective, in Proceedings of Management of Recovered Wood Recycling, Bioenergy and Other Options, Cristos Gallis (editor), University Studio Press, Thessaloniki, pp. 29-40. Franklin and Associates, Characterization of Building Related Construction and Demolition Debris in the United States, June 1998, US EPA Report No. EPA530-R-98-010. McKeever, David B., Taking Inventory of Woody Residuals, BioCycle, July 2003. Northeast Waste Management Official’s Association, January 2005, Interstate flow of construction and demolition waste among the NEWMOA states in 2002. Walsh, Marie E., Robert L. Perlack, Anthony Turhollow, Daniel de la Torre Ugarte, Denny A. Becker, Robin L. Graham, Stephen E. Slinsky, and Daryll E. Ray, Biomass Feedstock Availability in the United States, Unpublished Oak Ridge National Laboratory Report, January, 2000.