I construction waste they represent about half of the total quantities of waste produced in Italy. Improving its management and recovery is the key to making the sector sustainable and finally creating a real one circular building. "But this can only happen by overcoming the regulatory limits and market failures that have so far held back its development, and which do not seem to have been overcome even by the new End of Waste Decree", write the REF research analysts - Donato Berardi and Antonio Pergolizzi with the contribution of Francesca Bellaera and Iorgio Bressi in the latest work "Recycle construction and demolition waste. The circular economy put to the test".
The public sector is called upon to solve the limits that hold back the development of the recycled aggregates market, using incentives and streamlining procedures, trying to raise awareness and train the contracting authorities on legal obligations, the researchers argue. Then the potential of the supply chain could be really exploited by reducing the producers of C&D waste, the costs and generating economic margins consistent with their (re)use directly on construction sites.
Building construction waste numbers
Almost half of the waste produced in a year in our country is attributable to construction, in the form of waste from the construction and demolition of buildings, public works, renovations of private homes, up to collapses and rubble resulting from seismic events, unfortunately not uncommon. It's about 70 million tons of waste (of which approximately 60,6 million from special circuits, 400.00 tons from urban), which total 48,4% of the total non-hazardous waste produced in the country.
The trend in the production of waste from C&D in the years 2016-2019 shows an increase of 28%, since these volumes were 54,8 million tons in 2016, compared to 70 million in 2019. Considering the recovery rate – intended as preparation for the reuse, recycling and other forms of material recovery of construction and demolition waste – this stands at 78,1%.
However, sector estimates and operators' perceptions point to a much more problematic scenario, with a good portion of aggregates left in warehouses or in any case not used on construction sites due to lack of competitive markets and regulatory issues in general.
According to the new EU recycling targets, the construction and demolition waste chain has enormous growth potential. But effective recycling collides with a regulatory framework, according to the researchers, "excessively cumbersome and at times schizophrenic and an exemplary case of market failure".
Construction waste management: what went wrong?
According to the researchers, there is a serious cultural lag which has prevented the emergence of a real awareness of the role that construction sites can play in promoting the circular economy. But above all, there has been a lack of an active role for the public to encourage the use of recycled aggregate on construction sites.
To aggravate the whole complexity of environmental legislation, constantly looking for a difficult balance between environmental protection and the development of the circular economy.
Ref's proposals Research on C&D waste management
How to manage the recycling of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste? According to the report, much depends on public intervention which should resolve market failures and compensate for the diseconomies produced by regulations aimed at environmental protection. Creating market mechanisms, currently absent, would allow not only to obtain enormous environmental benefits but substantial savings both to the Public Administration - in its capacity as client/Contracting Authority - and to private operators - in its capacity as producers/conferers of rubble at the management/disposal sites.
Nationally, it serves the modification of the End of Waste Regulation of C&D waste, making the tabular limits more suited to the practical applications of recycled aggregates, "getting out of the hypocrisy of requiring purity standards (for example for roadbeds) that are not required even for virgin materials", add the researchers.
We need clear checks and responsibilities on the real application of the obligations in the matter minimum environmental criteria (CAM) in the construction field in tenders called by the PA. The CAMs should form an integral part of the technical specification drawn up by the contracting station to guide the subsequent design, also providing for sanctions in case of non-application. And considering that the application of the CAMs by the contracting authorities could lead to an increase in costs, the project should already be developed in compliance with the CAMs and the rewarding criteria should be foreseen in the tender specifications.
Furthermore, according to the study, it would be necessary to discourage the transfer of inert waste to landfills (at least non-hazardous waste) as well as the collection of virgin materials with a specific national standard and a increase in the ecotax. Also promote selective demolition with recovery of C&D waste directly on site, above all with a view to reducing costs.
Finally, standardize the regional laws on the use of plants (especially in terms of authorizations for mobile plants for recovery directly on site).
