Sustainable Management of Construction and Demolition Materials
Construction and Demolition (C&D) materials consist of the debris generated during the construction, renovation and demolition of buildings, roads, and bridges. EPA promotes a Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) approach that identifies certain C&D materials as commodities that can be used in new building projects, thus avoiding the need to mine and process virgin materials.
On this page:
- What Are C&D Materials?
- C&D Materials in America
- Benefits of Reducing the Disposal of C&D Materials
- What You Can Do
What Are C&D Materials?
Construction and demolition (C&D) materials are generated when new building and civil-engineering structures are built and when existing buildings and civil-engineering structures are renovated or demolished (including deconstruction activities). Civil-engineering structures include public works projects, such as streets and highways, bridges, utility plants, piers, and dams.
C&D materials often contain bulky, heavy materials such as:
- Concrete
- Wood (from buildings)
- Asphalt (from roads and roofing shingles)
- Gypsum (the main component of drywall)
- Metals
- Bricks
- Glass
- Plastics
- Salvaged building components (doors, windows, and plumbing fixtures)
- Trees, stumps, earth, and rock from clearing sites
C&D Materials in America
C&D materials constitute a significant waste stream in the United States. These various C&D materials can be diverted from disposal and managed into new productive uses.
EPA’s waste characterization report, the Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2018 Fact Sheet, estimates the C&D material generation and the mass quantities of the generated materials that were directed to next use or sent to landfills in the United States. C&D materials included in the report are steel, wood products, drywall and plaster, brick and clay tile, asphalt shingles, concrete, and asphalt concrete. The generation estimates represent C&D material amounts from construction, renovation and demolition activities for buildings, roads and bridges, and other structures. “Next use” designates an intended next-use market for a C&D material, which depending on the material, may include fuel, manufactured products, aggregate, compost and mulch or soil amendment. Estimates are based on publicly available data from government and industry organizations.
The 2018 Fact Sheet shows:
- 600 million tons of C&D debris were generated in the United States in 2018, which is more than twice the amount of generated municipal solid waste.
- Demolition represents more than 90 percent of total C&D debris generation, while construction represents less than 10 percent.
- Just over 455 million tons of C&D debris were directed to next use and just under 145 million tons were sent to landfills.
- Aggregate was the main next use for the materials in the C&D debris.
Prior to adding C&D materials to the Advancing SMM Report, EPA examined the generation of C&D materials through separate studies. EPA estimated that 136 million tons of building-related C&D materials were generated in the United States in 1996. By 2003, almost 170 million tons of building-related C&D materials were generated. In 2003, nonresidential sources accounted for 61 percent of that amount. The largest building sector that generated C&D materials was nonresidential demolition followed by the residential renovation.
For more on C&D, visit the web page on C&D Material-Specific Data.
Benefits of Reducing the Disposal of C&D Materials
Reducing the amount of C&D materials disposed of in landfills or incinerators can:
- Create employment and economic activities in recycling industries and provide increased business opportunities within the local community, especially when deconstruction and selective demolition methods are used.
- EPA's 2016 Recycling Economic Information (REI) Report showed that in 2012 the recycling of C&D materials created 175,000 jobs.
- Reduce overall building project expenses through avoided purchase/disposal costs, and the donation of recovered materials to qualified 501(c)(3) charities, which provides a tax benefit. Onsite reuse also reduces transportation costs.
- Lead to fewer disposal facilities, potentially reducing the associated environmental issues.
- Offset the environmental impact associated with the extraction and consumption of virgin resources and production of new materials.
- Conserve landfill space.
For a national economy-wide strategic view of the environmental impacts of single-family home construction in the United States, including environmental benefits associated with salvaging, recycling, and reusing C&D materials, read our life cycle analysis.
What You Can Do: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rebuy C&D Materials
You can help divert C&D materials from disposal by practicing source reduction, salvaging, recycling and reusing existing materials, and buying used and recycled materials and products. The following sections provide more information about:
- How you can practice source reduction by using less materials and generating less waste from your project;
- What deconstruction means and what C&D materials you can salvage for reuse during deconstruction;
- How C&D materials can be recycled and how you can find a recycler to recycle them for you; and,
- The economic, aesthetic and environmental benefits you can achieve by buying used and recycled products.
Source Reduction/Reducing Materials Use
Source reduction reduces life-cycle material use, energy use and waste generation. EPA gives it the highest priority for addressing solid waste issues. While reuse and recycling are important methods to sustainably manage waste once waste has already been generated, source reduction prevents waste from being generated in the first place.
Examples of C&D source reduction measures include preserving existing buildings rather than constructing new ones; optimizing the size of new buildings; designing new buildings for adaptability to prolong their useful lives; using construction methods that allow disassembly and facilitate reuse of materials; employing alternative framing techniques; reducing interior finishes; and more.
In addition to changing the design of buildings, building systems and materials, C&D source reduction efforts incorporate purchasing agreements that prevent excess materials and packaging from arriving to the construction site.
Looking to practice a source reduction measure in your structure's design or construction? Read Best Practices for Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling Construction and Demolition (C&D) Materials. for more information on Design for Adaptability, Disassembly and Reuse.
Salvaging and Reusing C&D Materials
Demolishing existing buildings and disposing of the debris is not a resource efficient practice. Recovering used, but still-valuable C&D materials for further use is an effective way to save money while protecting natural resources.
Deconstruction for Reuse
Deconstruction is the process of carefully dismantling buildings to salvage components for reuse and recycling. Deconstruction can be applied on a number of levels to salvage usable materials and significantly cut waste.
Deconstruction has many benefits, including the following:
- Maximizes the recovery of materials.
- Conserves finite, old-growth forest resources.
- Provides many employment and job training opportunities.
- When coupled with traditional demolition methods, allows communities to create local economic activities around manufacturing or reprocessing salvaged materials.
- Diverts demolition debris bound for disposal
- Preserves resources through reuse.
More information on deconstruction, including deconstruction of abandoned mobile homes, can be found at Best Practices for Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling Construction and Demolition (C&D) Materials.
What Materials Can Be Reused?
The major benefit of reusing materials is the resource and energy use that one saves avoided by reducing the production of new materials. Some commonly reused C&D materials and applications include:
- Easy-to-remove items like doors, hardware, appliances, and fixtures. These can be salvaged for donation or use during the rebuild or on other jobs.
- Wood cutoffs can be used for cripples, lintels, and blocking to eliminate the need to cut full length lumber. Scrap wood can be chipped on site and used as mulch or groundcover.
- De-papered and crushed gypsum can be used, in moderate quantities, as a soil amendment.
- Brick, concrete and masonry can be recycled on site as fill, subbase material or driveway bedding.
- Excess insulation from exterior walls can be used in interior walls as noise deadening material.
- Paint can be remixed and used in garage or storage areas, or as primer coat on other jobs.
- Packaging materials can be returned to suppliers for reuse.
More information on environmental considerations associated with the reuse and recycling of certain C&D materials can be found on at Best Practices for Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling Construction and Demolition (C&D) Materials.
Recycling C&D Materials
Many building components can be recycled where markets exist. Asphalt, concrete, and rubble are often recycled into aggregate or new asphalt and concrete products. Wood can be recycled into engineered-wood products like furniture, as well as mulch, compost, and other products. Metals—including steel, copper, and brass—are also valuable commodities to recycle. Additionally, although cardboard packaging from home-building sites is not classified as a C&D material, it does make its way into the mixed C&D stream, and many markets exist for recycling this material.
Sometimes, materials sent for recycling end up being poorly managed or mismanaged. Asking your recycler a few questions, such as whether they are in compliance with state and local regulations, state licensing or registration, and/or third-party certification, can ensure the proper and intended management for your materials.
More information on environmental considerations associated with the reuse and recycling of certain C&D materials can be found at Best Practices for Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling Construction and Demolition (C&D) Materials.
Rebuying C&D Materials
Buying used C&D materials and recycled content products for use in new construction can:
- Boost the local economy as recovered materials are typically locally sourced.
- Lower construction and renovation costs while maintaining building function and performance.
- Ensure materials collected from reuse and recycling programs will be used again in the manufacture of new products and/or new construction, thereby fully realizing the benefits of reuse and recycling efforts;
- Preserve local architectural character and historic significance (in cases of preserved or restored buildings).
More information on where to buy recovered materials and products can be found at Best Practices for Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling Construction and Demolition (C&D) Materials.