EPA Drafting Guidance on Recycling Construction & Demolition Wastes

Date: November 15, 2010

Source: News Room

The EPA is planning to release its final draft guidance for the recovery and recycling of drywall and wood during construction and demolition of buildings in an attempt to reduce the amount of the materials ending up in landfills. The "Construction and Demolition Materials Recovery Road Map" action plan is the result of more than a year of work by the agency and a stakeholder workgroup and stems from initiatives outlined in the 2009 "Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead" report, which shifts EPA's focus away from waste management and toward a life-cycle approach to product disposal.

Waste Business Journal estimates that the US generated about 104 million tons of C&D waste in 2010, down from 114.6 mil. tons in 2009 and 143 mil. tons in 2007. New processing facilities augmented by improved processes has improved the overall recycling rate to 28%, up from 23% in 2001. Higher disposal fees at landfills in recent years has created an incentive to recycle more as well. That leaves 75 mil. tons for disposal, of which 36 mil. tons will go to C&D landfills and about 31 mil. tons will go to sanitary landfills, which either have C&D only cells or are simply the more convenient option. The remaining 8.5 mil. tons will go to waste-to-energy plants or industrial boilers.

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