Project Fact Sheet (315Kb, Nov 2018)

A holistic national approach is required to handle the growing issue of construction and demolition (C&D) waste management in Australia. Through this project, the discrepancies and inconsistencies related to C&D waste management regulations in each jurisdiction will be identified and recommendations for harmonising reforms made. The project will also develop a case for creating a marketplace to trade waste across sectors and jurisdictions. The project will deliver an innovative integrated supply chain model based on a cradle-to-cradle (lifecycle) approach that will streamline C&D waste management processes, while effectively reducing/reusing/recycling C&D waste. A key deliverable will be recommendations to aid national harmonisation of the economic factors and drivers/barriers that govern C&D waste management in a market-driven economy.

Objectives

This project will promote a national understanding and recommendations for harmonisation of economic drivers across jurisdictions governing the disposal and reuse/recycling of construction and demolition (C&D) waste.

The specific objectives are to:

  1. Review regulations and their application in practice in different jurisdictions governing C&D waste management, identifying discrepancies and making recommendations for reforms.
  2. Develop a consistent approach to define and measure C&D waste across different jurisdictions.
  3. Identify economic factors that govern the disposal and reduce/reuse/recycling of C&D waste.
  4. Conduct a feasibility study on creating a marketplace to connect organisations and industries across jurisdictions for trading waste.
  5. Identify opportunities to integrate supply chains and develop an integrated supply chain lifecycle model espousing a cradle-to-cradle approach.

Industry Outcomes

The project deliverables will:

  1. Provide recommendations for the national harmonisation of C&D waste management regulations to improve industry practice.
  2. Support a consistent and clear understanding of what is defined by the terms ‘waste’ and ‘resource’ which will help industry to conduct business across jurisdictions more efficiently.
  3. Inform a market-driven approach to C&D waste management, by identifying governing economic factors and drivers/barriers for organisations to reduce or reuse/recycle C&D waste.
  4. Develop case studies to highlight the benefits of an integrated supply chain approach.
  5. Provide a feasibility analysis on the creation of a marketplace to trade C&D waste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Documents for Downloading

The following documents provide additional detail regarding this current research, including project outcomes to date:

Fact Sheet

A National Economic Approach to Improved Management of Construction and Demolition Waste (Nov 2018, 315Kb)

Industry Report

Construction and Demolition Waste Management in Australia (April 2020, 4.5Mb)

Research Reports

Final Research Report : A National Economic Approach to Improved Management of Construction and Demolition Waste. Final report (April 2020)

Report 1: Discrepancies in regulations governing C&D waste and recommendations for reforms (July 2019, 2Mb)

Report 2: Develop a Consistent Approach to Define and Measure C&D Waste Across Different Jurisdictions (July 2019, 1Mb)
Report 3: Identifying the economic factors and drivers that govern the disposal and reduction / reuse / recycling of Construction and Demolition waste (August 2019, 2.6Mb)

Report 4: Construction and Demolition Waste Market Development (August 2020, 2Mb)

Report 5: Timber – Resource Circular Economy: Opportunities to Reduce Waste Disposal Across the Supply Chain (March 2019, 3Mb)

Report 5: Glass – Resource Circular Economy: Opportunities to Reduce Waste Disposal Across the Supply Chain (March 2019, 2Mb)

Report 5: Concrete – Resource Circular Economy: Opportunities to Reduce Waste Disposal Across the Supply Chain (March 2019, 2Mb)

Report 5: Steel – Resource Circular Economy: Opportunities to Reduce Waste Disposal Across the Supply Chain (March 2019, 2Mb)

Report 5: Brick – Resource Circular Economy: Opportunities to Reduce Waste Disposal Across the Supply Chain (March 2019, 2Mb)

Report 6: A National Economic Approach to Improved Management of Construction and Demolition Waste. Final report (April 2020)

Videos

Full Video – A National Economic Approach to Improved Management of C&D Waste (4:45)
Short Summary Video – A National Economic Approach to Improved Management of C&D Waste (2:40)

Presentations

 

 Australian Construction and Demolition Waste Challenges and Opportunities. Sustainable Engineering Society Engineers Australia

 

 

Journal article: Savindi Caldera, Tim Ryley and Nikita Zatyko (2020) Developing a marketplace for construction and demolition waste: A systematic quantitative literature review.Presented at the 1st Asia Pacific Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy Water and Environment Systems, Gold Coast, Australia, ​6th – 9th April 2020.

Construction and Demolition Waste Management in Australia: Review of Differences in Jurisdictional Regulatory Frameworks, CIB World Building Congress, Hong Kong, 17-21 June 2019 (380Kb, Jun 2019)

Development of a domestic market for construction and demolition waste in Australia,  page 8-17, 43rd AUBEA Conference, ‘Built to Thrive: creating buildings and cities that support individual well-being and community prosperity’, 6-8 November 2019, Noosa, Australia.

Green construction and construction and demolition waste management in Australia, page 18-25, 43rd AUBEA Conference, ‘Built to Thrive: creating buildings and cities that support individual well-being and community prosperity’, 6-8 November 2019, Noosa, Australia.

Media

Article: Salman Shooshtarian and Tayyab Maqsood (2020) Construction and demolition waste exchange marketplace. Circular Resource Network, Third edition.

Article: We create 20m tons of construction industry waste each year. Here’s how to stop it going to landfill, The Conversation, 12 July 2019
Article: Closing the Loop on C&D Waste, Inside Waste, August 2018 Issue

Publications

Journal article: Salman Shooshtarian, Tayyab Maqsood, Peter Wong, Rebecca Yang and Malik Khalfan (2020). Review of waste strategy documents in Australia: analysis of strategies for construction and demolition waste. International Journal Environmental Technology and Management. 23(1):1-21

Journal article: Salman Shooshtarian, Tayyab Maqsood, Peter Wong, Malik Khalfan and Rebecca Yang (2020). Market development for construction and demolition waste stream in Australia. Journal of Construction Engineering, Management & Innovation. 3(3):220-231

Journal article: Salman Shooshtarian, Tayyab Maqsood, Peter Wong, Malik Khalfan and Rebecca Yang (2019) Construction Waste Management in Natural Disasters in Australia. Global Journal of Engineering Sciences, Volume 3, Issue 5, Pages 1-2.

Journal article: Salman Shooshtarian, Tayyab Maqsood, Malik Khalfan, Rebecca Yang and Peter Wong (2020). Landfill Levy Imposition on Construction and Demolition Waste: Australian Stakeholders Perceptions In: Sustainability. Sustainability Open Access Journal, 2 June 2020 (1Mb, Jun 2020)

Journal article: Salman Shooshtarian, Tayyab Maqsood, Peter Wong, Malik Khalfan and Rebecca Yang (June 2019). Review of energy recovery from construction and demolition waste in Australia. Journal of Construction Engineering, Management & Innovation, 2019 Volume 2 Issue 3, Pages 112-130 (390Kb, Jun 2019)

Shooshtarian, S., Caldera, S., Maqsood, T., Ryley, T., Khalfan, M. (2021) An investigation into challenges and opportunities in the Australian construction and demolition waste management system, Emerald Insight

Website

National Construction and Demolition Waste Research and Industry Portal (NCDRIP)