Construction, demolition recycling up in Victoria

Figures from the latest Victorian recycling survey and Towards Zero Waste Strategy progress report, indicates the construction and demolition sector recycled 70% of waste during 2005/06, up from 58% recorded in 2004/05, and above the 2008/09 progress target of 65%.

Sustainability Victoria conducts the Victorian Recycling Industries Annual Survey to provide information on the type and source of materials which are diverted from landfill. The survey also provides valuable information for anticipating future materials returning into the market for reuse.

The Towards Zero Waste Strategy 2005 report (also published by Sustainability Victoria) set a 2014 target for the construction and demolition (C&D) industry for 80% of all waste generated to be sent to reprocessors for recycling or reusing.

Initiatives within the C&D sector include expanding capacity and increasing infrastructure to bring more C&D material to the reprocessors.

The C&D sector generated nearly four billion tonnes of waste, down 2% from 2004/05, of which 2.8 billion tonnes was sent to reprocessors. There was 18% more waste sent to reprocessors in 2005/06, and an encouraging 30 % reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfill.

As with previous years, most (97%) of material recovered from the C&D sector was construction and demolition materials, including concrete, brick, rock, asphalt, plasterboard, soil and sand.

The amount of construction and demolition material recovered increased to a new record in 2005/06, up 17%, to 2.9mt. Concrete continued to be the majority of the material in this category, making up 60%; rock and excavation stone made up 14%, and brick 13%. The material was mainly sent from commercial and civil sites, contributing 86%, with 6% from residential sites.

The reprocessed construction and demolition material was mainly turned into aggregate, largely comprised of crushed concrete, brick, rock and excavated stone. Whole bricks recovered were manually cleaned, palletised and sold for reuse. The bulk of the plasterboard was used in soil improver for agricultural applications.