Development and Application of a Sustainable Management System for Construction and Demolition Wastes

The construction and demolition wastes (C&DW) management in Taiwan has been of a major concern due to potentially high risk to the environment. Past annual statistics indicated the number of construction firms regulated by Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration rose from 241 to 8,677 from 2005 to 2011, and their total amount of discharge increased from 110,922.79 tons/year to 1,575,882.30 tons/year; of which, 99.88% were general industrial waste, and 0.12% was hazardous industrial waste. Most of the waste was of the mixed waste of construction and demolition (32.58 - 66.35%), followed by the mixed waste of earthwork or construction (13.14 - 38.08%). In future years, Taiwan is seeing a large amount of C&DW and a low supply of construction-related or natural materials, thus if C&DW could be utilized in a more efficient manner, the issue of secondary environmental pollution would not only be solved but the goal of turning Taiwan into a “recycle-oriented society” where there is “zero waste” could also be achieved. Therefore, the management system and tracking of C&DW have received much research attention in recent years.