Recycling Construction and Demolition Wastes Based on a Technical and Economic Inventory of Buildings

This study aims to tackle the complex challenge of urban sustainability by repurposing construction and demolition wastes into valuable resources. To manage the use of waste as effectively as possible, it is necessary to have a precise overview of the stock of materials available after demolition. However, detailed data regarding the demolished buildings or the material composition is often insufficient or incomplete. This research attempts to address these shortcomings by inventorying Walloon building stock using multisource data including construction plans, cadastral, land use, and LiDAR data to quantify residential buildings and materials available for recycling or reuse after demolition. We analyse building characteristics (area, height, volume etc.), classify residential buildings by age and type and then create a database of typical material compositions per building group. By cross referencing material intensities (kg/m³), defined as the quantity of a material present in a cubic metre of a building, with building volumes, we estimate total material stocks. Combined with annual demolition rates, this provides projections of recyclable or reusable waste. Demolition rates from previous years are used. Various demolition scenarios will be examined to explore the relationship between buildings’ general conditions and different levels of renovation and demolition. These results show an estimate of the quantities of waste to be removed and processed and their spatial distribution in the Walloon region. They will be shared with existing recycling and demolition centres and industry stakeholders to support development in the waste recycling sector.