Waste from building and construction, 2011

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 (559 000 tonnes) of the total waste generated from building activities in 2011 came from rehabilitation activities. Construction activities generated 33 per cent (527 000 tonnes) and demolition generated the remaining 32 per cent (513 000 tonnes). Heavy building materials; mainly bricks and concrete, constituted about 40 per cent of the total waste. This includes 2 000 tonnes of slightly polluted concrete and bricks. The amount of hazardous waste has roughly doubled since 2011. The main fractions were materials contaminated with oil and waste containing PCBs and PCTs.

High volume of waste sent to waste handling facilities was recycled

The statistics on waste treatment are based on information from a sample of waste collectors in Norway. Fifty-seven per cent ² of the waste was sent to recycling. Twenty-seven and seven per cent ² of the waste respectively was sent to energy recovery and deposit.

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 relating to how much 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.

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