Waste from building and construction, 2009-2010

Waste from new constructions, rehabilitation and demolition of buildings constitutes about 18 per cent of the total waste generated annually in Norway. The vast majority of the waste contains materials that are relatively uncontaminated and which can be disposed of at landfills or reused without special environmental considerations. Some building materials do however contain hazardous substances, which must be properly treated.

Nearly equal amounts of waste from new constructions, rehabilitation and demolition

Thirty-five per cent (0.54 million tonnes) of the total waste generated from building activities in 2010 came from rehabilitation activities. Construction activities generated 34 per cent (0.52 millions tonnes), and demolition generated the last 31 per cent (0.48 million tonnes). Heavy building materials; mainly bricks and concrete, constituted about 40 per cent of the total waste. This includes 18 000 tonnes of slightly polluted concrete and bricks. The amount of hazardous waste was slightly more than 14 000 tonnes.

There is a relatively small amount of glass in the sorted waste fractions, and it is therefore assumed that a large amount of glass ends up in the mixed waste.

75 per cent of waste generated from demolition was sent directly to reuse or recovery

This statistic is based on information on waste generation and sorting from reports that are sent to the local authorities as a part of the building application system. Based on the reports collected in this survey, it is estimated that the share of mixed waste from new constructions, rehabilitation and demolition was 33, 22 and 6 per cent respectively. About 75 per cent of the waste from demolition activities (mainly concrete, metal and asphalt) was sent directly to reuse or recovery. This is an improvement since the survey in 2004, when it was estimated that 40 per cent of the waste went to unknown treatment.

The authorities’ focus on waste generated from building activities has led to changes in regulations that require at least 60 per cent of the waste to be sorted at the building site and a waste plan and final report to be drawn up and sent to the local authority. The survey indicates that the new regulations have affected the waste handling activities. Nevertheless, it is important to underline that the collected reports cover a small part of the generated waste, and there are therefore uncertainties related to how large a share of the waste is treated according to the regulations.

The Waste Directive (valid in Norway due to the EEA agreement) includes a target of 70 per cent material recovery for non-hazardous waste from construction and demolition by 2020. It can be assumed that the sorted waste materials like metal, paper and plastics are sent to material recovery, whilst the wooden waste is most probably used for energy recovery. Waste used for backfilling operations is included in the target for material recovery.

Uncertainties remain in the figures

The quality of the data used as a basis for the statistics is improving. The greatest uncertainty is attributed to the demolition of buildings due to the low quality of data for the area. In 2004, the estimations were based on waste factors developed from waste reports from building projects in Oslo municipality. In this survey, data from several municipalities are used in addition to Oslo, and there is therefore a broader sample with respect to small and large cities and urban and rural districts. The collected reports cover some 4 per cent of the total waste generated.

Tables:

• Table 1 Generated waste amounts from construction, rehabilitation and demolition of buildings. Tonnes. 2009 and 2010