Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW), from the construction, maintenance, renovation and demolition of buildings and structures, represents a large proportion of the waste in industrialized societies.
Compared to other forms, such as household waste, more than 90% of CDW can be used as a resource and a substitute for construction materials, especially for primary, natural raw materials. Reuse, recovery and recycling depends on the quality and market for the materials, and the environmental impact of the processes for conversion of CDW from old structures to its use in new structures. However, the utilization today of CDW products as secondary resources is marginal. Most CDW is deposited or used as fill material, and the opportunities of high quality recycling are generally neglected.
This book presents the opportunities for the sustainable and resource efficient utilisation of CDW, focusing on recycling of concrete and masonry as the major forms of CDW. The recycling of gypsum, timber, mineral wool, asphalt and other types are also described. Its aim is to present a chain of value and material streams in the transformation of obsolete buildings and structures into new buildings and structures. It takes a holistic view, focusing on the lifecycle economy (the circular economy) and integrated management aspects of various scenarios ranging from high industrial urban renewal to debris removal and management after disasters and conflicts.
It is based on the author´s 35 years of research and development combined with practical international experience within the demolition and recycling area. It addresses students, architects, civil engineers, building owners, public authorities and others working in urban planning, demolition and resource management in the building and construction sector and in the reconstruction of damaged buildings after disasters and wars.
Erik K. Lauritzen is managing director and owner of Erik Krogh Lauritzen ApS, Lauritzen Advising. He has 40 years of experience in the fields of explosive engineering, demolition and recycling, risk and safety assessment, post-war reconstruction, disaster management and project management. He is especially involved, as past Chairman of the RILEM Technical Committee on Guidelines for Demolition of Concrete and Masonry, in research and development and rubble recycling technologies.
Lauritzen has been responsible for a number of major demolition projects and post-disaster and post-war reconstruction projects in Lebanon, Kosovo, Bosnia, Turkey, Japan and Haiti in cooperation with the World Bank, UNDP, UNRWA, UNEP, EU and DANIDA. From 2012 to 2018, he was chairman of the Danish Network for Construction and Demolition Waste under the Danish Centre of Competence on Waste and Resources (DAKOFA).
