Can construction waste be better managed ?
Dumping of concrete debris
continues despite designated dump
sites, writes SHOBANA MENON
T
hese days, comfortable
mounds of building de-
bris from demolitions
and remodelling are a
common feature ON Chen-
nai’s street sides. And the
city’s resilient road users
learn to take that too in their
stride! However, according to
a senior Corporation official,
dumping of construction
waste on the roadside contin-
ues ‘in spite of having desig-
nated dumpsites’. “Earlier
there was more debris on
roadsides, but now there is a
move to dump at the desig-
nated place.
The Corporation charges
Rs 400, to be paid by cheque
or draft, per lorry load of de-
bris, which then goes to low-
lying parks/ dumping
grounds,” he says. Records
show that 25, 191 trips (or lor-
ry loads) were made by the
Corporation of Chennai be-
tween March 2005 and July
2006, to remove debris from
the dumpsite opposite the
CMDA.
But at the ground level, an-
other official laments, “The
lorries provided to each zone
for this purpose make only
one trip to each division and
the dumpsite is also very far
away. Labour problem is ram-
pant. Many citizens, under
cover of darkness, dump it a
few streets away. Why can not
the CMDA institute a rule
regularising demolition of
buildings only after a certain
minimum period?”
Unaware
The Corporation charges a
fee of Rs 10/sq ft as demoli-
tion charges. And most build-
ers seem unaware of the
‘designated dumpsites’! A
spokesperson for the Build-
ers’ Association says, “Know-
ing the Corporation’s
constraints, generally build-
ers liaise with a rubbish lorry
owner. He identifies a low-ly-
ing area to fill up, takes money
from both parties and relo-
cates the debris. When sites
for relocation haven’t been
identified there is a delay. Mr
Raghavan, Disposal Consult-
ant, who has handled several
demolition projects, says,
“This sector is totally disorga-
nised. If the dumping areas
are clearly demarcated, peo-
ple definitely won’t want to
dump anywhere. Even where
there is small money, recy-
cling of material is definitely
happening. The concrete de-
bris can definitely be reused
in low end compacting func-
tions, foundations, road ar-
eas, for heightening purposes
etc. Earlier there was a lot of
empty land around, but now
people don’t know what to do
with the debris they create!”
A HUGE TASK: Disposal of debris at the right place is yet to take shape. File photo & PHOTO S.THANTHONI
And unfortunately there are
more people, and more gener-
ated debris too!
But calling for a compre-
hensive approach to deal with
this issue is G Dattatri, former
urban planner, and currently
Trustee, SUSTAIN. “Low-ly-
ing areas that are very impor-
tant from the ecological point
of view are being filled up
with debris that could be even
containing toxic material
which will affect the soil and
water quality. The collection
system needs to be properly
enforced by zonal officers,
and ground level officials. De-
bris can be managed in a sus-
tainable way by converting it
to building material (used as
concrete) in the form of bil-
lets (crushed and graded);
road material (use bonding
with cement). Make it com-
pulsory and viable for build-
ers to recycle solid waste. ”
Recycling
In other parts of the devel-
oped world, reuse and recy-
cling of construction and
debris materials is one com-
ponent of a larger holistic
practice called sustainable or
green building construction.
The efficient use of resources
means reducing, reusing, and
recycling most if not all mate-
rials that remain after a con-
struction or renovation
project. In California, for in-
stance, there are approxi-
mately 100 producers of
recycled aggregate.
Recycled aggregate is used:
In paved roads as aggregate
base, aggregate sub-base, and
shoulders.
In gravel roads as surfacing.
As base for building foun-
dations.
At this time, the primary
market abroad is in aggregate
base and sub-base in road
projects. Local governments
also help promote markets
for recycled aggregate be-
cause they are large purchas-
ers of aggregate and other
road construction products.
Another interesting aspect
that can be considered is ‘de-
constructing’. Rather than
demolish an entire building,
all or part of the structure can
be ‘deconstructed’. Decon-
struction is the orderly dis-
mantling of building
components for reuse or re-
cycling. It involves carefully
taking apart portions of
buildings or removing their
contents with the primary
goal being reuse. It can be as
simple as stripping out cabi-
netry, fixtures, and windows,
or as involved as manually
taking apart the building
frame.
The construction and dem-
olition debris generated can
be diverted from landfill if the
municipal authorities ensure
that at least 50 per cent to 75
per cent of the total debris
generated by the project is re-
used or recycled. However,
care must be taken to segre-
gate hazardous waste, con-
taminated earth or soil and
materials without any use or
market value. An essential
link in the design chain is to
plan the demolition and con-
struction process to maxi-
mise reuse of materials and
facilitate recycling of materi-
als that will not be reused on
site.
Regarding management of
solid debris in environmen-
tally friendly Green Buildings
in India, Deepa Sathiaram,
Chennai-based US LEED
Consultant, says “Though the
management of solid waste
generated on site is a require-
ment, it is not mandatory.
That civil contractors make
note of the entire waste gen-
erated and keep an account of
what they do with it is insist-
ed upon. Mortar/ concrete
waste is mostly powdered and
used for road levelling, paving
etc., within site. Contractors
do have vendors who manage
the rest, but monitoring is dif-
ficult. Other countries have
independent organisations
(quasi-government and pri-
vate) that take care of waste
and their advantage is that
they have a local county offi-
cial who controls these proc-
esses. Here, though we have
all the codes and standards,
enforcement is lacking.”
Questions for the solid
waste managers to consider
regarding building debris are
ludicrously simple –
a) What opportunities are
available for reducing and re-
cycling demolition waste and
construction debris?
b) How can the construc-
tion job be managed to effi-
ciently sort and collect waste
and debris for reuse or recy-
cling?
Only their answers require
careful thought and planning,
besides lots of political and
official will before they can be
implemented and enforced.
Chennai’s environment has
been beleaguered enough al-
ready, on many fronts. Can
the solid waste managers
come