Recycling of Construction and Demolition Waste Material for Energy Savings in India

Abstract

Buildings are an integral part for development in any sector of economic growth and they consume resources not only during their construction but also for operation throughout their life. The design, construction, operation, maintenance, and ultimately the removal of buildings consume large amounts of energy, water, and building materials, and generate large quantities of waste, and pollute the air and water. The amount of resources consumed, waste generated can be judged from the fact that in any development project, the component of construction is quite large.The Indian construction industry has accounted for approximately 50% of the country's capital outlay in successive Five Year Plans, and projected investment continues to show a growing trend. Out of 48 million tonnes of solid waste generated in India, C&D (construction and demolition) waste makes up 25% annually. Despite this the use of recycled material in construction is not much, which can largely be attributed to various factors like lack of awareness on the part of designers/engineers, lack of awareness campaigns and appreciation of using recycled materials, unorganized market of recycled construction material, absence of a proper solid waste management system in urban areas, lack of tax incentives and poor implementation of legislation on the use of recycled materials. It is high time that the above said issues about the use of recycled material in construction in our country be addressed so as to achieve economy in construction coupled with easing burden on natural resources thereby resulting in cleaner environment.