Distribution of materials in construction and demolition waste in Portugal

It may not be enough simply to know the global volume of construction and demolition waste (CDW) generated in a certain region or country if one wants to estimate, for instance, the revenue accruing from separating several types of materials from the input entering a given CDW recycling plant. A more detailed determination of the distribution of the materials within the generated CDW is needed and the present paper addresses this issue, distinguishing different buildings and types of operation (new construction, retrofitting and demolition). This has been achieved by measuring the materials from buildings of different ages within the Portuguese building stock, and by using direct data from demolition/retrofitting sites and new construction average values reported in the literature. An attempt to establish a benchmark with other countries is also presented. This knowledge may also benefit industry management, especially that related to CDW recycling, helping to optimize procedures, equipment size and operation and even industrial plant spatial distribution. In an extremely competitive market, where as in Portugal low-tech and high environmental impact procedures remain the norm in the construction industry (in particular, the construction waste industry), the introduction of a successful recycling industry is only possible with highly optimized processes and based on a knowledge-based approach to problems.