Most major cities in Australia have experienced a construction boom over the past twenty years. We see office blocks, apartment blocks, and all kinds of other structures appearing at a rate of knots… and that trend will continue well into the future. In fact, the CSIRO estimates that 70% of the buildings and infrastructure that will exist in Australia in 2050 have not yet been built.
The industry uses an enormous amount of materials in building these structures, which demands a huge amount of natural resources. That includes manufacturing steel, cutting down trees for timber, and mining gypsum for plaster. The worry is that by 2050, we may not have enough materials for all of the necessary structures.
This brings us to construction waste. Despite the fact that sustainability is improving in the construction industry, a huge amount of waste is still produced each year. At Sydney City Rubbish, we deal with construction waste in Sydney almost daily, and therefore, we understand the importance of educating businesses about this kind of rubbish.
Let’s take a close look below.
The facts and the figures
The facts and statistics around building waste in Sydney are a little daunting because there are some very large numbers involved.
Every year in Australia, the building industry produces 27 million tonnes of waste according to the national waste report 2020. That’s 44% of all waste generated throughout the country! Of that building waste, 20 million tons end up in landfills every single year.
When these building materials end up in landfills, they can cause all kinds of serious environmental problems. That includes contaminated soil, polluted waterways, impacted wildlife and plants, and even drinking water pollution. These are just some of the reasons as to why building waste needs to be recycled.
Sustainability is gradually improving in the building industry but at the moment, only about 12% of all building materials used come from recycled materials.
This material also contributes greatly to carbon emissions, through both the manufacturing process, building process, and recycling process. For example, cement production alone contributes about 5% of all worldwide carbon emissions.
Going by these statistics, it’s clear that building materials and building waste are a huge problem in Australia and the wider world.
What kind of construction waste are we talking about?
Construction waste can consist of a huge range of materials. If you take a look around your house, workplace, or any other structure, you’ll probably be able to see brick, plaster, wood, metal, carpet, and maybe other materials.
That’s already a wide range of building products, and you can’t even see the frame, foundations, or inside the ceilings! Let’s take a closer look at the wide array of building materials that become Sydney construction waste, every single day.
Wood
Wood has been a critical part of construction since the earliest humans began building shelters. These days, it’s often used for frames, as well as trimmings, floors, and exteriors. Most timber that is used in construction comes from the local logging industry. In 2016/17, this industry harvested 33.2 billion cubic metres of timber, which was a 44% increase from 2012/13.
Once this wood arrives on a building site, it will have been cut into planks and often treated with chemicals, to ensure it’s weather-proof. Then, these planks will be cut down and used… but the wood trimmings are often simply thrown into skips, then dumped in landfills. On larger building sites, that then presents a significant amount of waste.
While a lot of wood can be reused on other projects or used for burning fuel, the treated variants cannot be burned. And it takes a very vigilant construction company to ensure that offcuts are saved for other projects.
Metal
Metal is another extremely common waste material found on building sites. Whether it’s offcuts or pieces that have been removed during a demolition project, there will inevitably be metal waste present. The most common metal types on a building site will likely be carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, and aluminium.
The good news with metal waste is that virtually all of it can be recycled. And often, if you take your scrap metal to a recycling facility you will receive some financial reward. In fact, according to the AWE, we produced 5 million tonnes of metal waste in 2016/17 and 90% of that was recycled.
However, these figures are mostly made up of municipal waste statistics and not construction waste. The recycling figures for metal building waste are much lower, around 33%. That means there is a huge amount of scrap ending up in landfills, meaning a negative impact on the environment and a financial loss for companies.
Plastic
Plastic waste is most commonly found in piping, packaging, and all sorts of other items that appear on building sites. Unfortunately, it’s an oft-forgotten material and therefore, plastic isn’t managed anywhere near as responsibly as it should be.
In the UK, a study found that the building industry produces over 50,000 tonnes of plastic waste every single year. This is a huge amount and the same study found that larger companies were not doing enough to ensure that this material was being recycled.
The good news with plastic is that it is a very recyclable material and therefore, when managed right, the impact of plastic waste can be reduced greatly. This article even suggests that the plastic waste we produce all over the globe, in all different forms, could actually be the ideal building material!
Brick and concrete
Bricks and concrete waste are most commonly seen when an existing house or building is demolished, to make way for a new project. This rubble (it’s rarely undamaged, complete bricks) is then dumped into skip bins and unceremoniously distributed to landfills.
However, depending on the company which removes your brick and concrete waste, this material can be used for a range of positive outcomes. If processed at a proper facility, brick and concrete waste can be used in road construction, walkway construction, new concrete aggregate, landscaping purposes, and even as a base for new marine reefs.
Plaster and gypsum
Plasterboard is present in most homes, offices, and apartment buildings throughout Sydney. Therefore, it goes without saying that plaster then becomes one of the more common building waste materials that we see on a regular basis.
Plaster is made of gypsum, a naturally occurring material that is mined from the earth. Because of that, plaster is 100% recyclable… which is fantastic news! However, despite a number of very accessible recycling programs, plasterboard still ends up in landfills in huge quantities.
Therefore, it’s up to builders to work with Sydney rubbish removal companies that prioritise dealing with construction waste in the most sustainable ways.
Contaminated soil
Soil can become contaminated over the years, thanks to chemicals or heavy metals like lead seeping into the soil over time. On building and demolition sites, contaminated soil often needs to be removed before construction can begin. This is common when an older structure has been demolished to make way for a new project.
Contaminated soil is a serious threat to the environment and must be dealt with properly. If it isn’t and is simply dumped into landfills, the contamination can spread to nearby ecosystems, wreaking havoc on wildlife and plant life, and can even make people living nearby ill. There are numerous examples of increased cancer and illness risk in people living in towns by contaminated waterways.
Therefore, dealing with contaminated soil is so important. Don’t take the risk; work with a qualified Sydney rubbish removal company to deal with your contaminated soil.
So, where to from here?
The big question to ask yourself is, how can your building site or construction company manage its waste more efficiently and sustainably? The aim is to prevent that waste from ending up in landfills, so the obvious solution is more repurposing and recycling.
Educating staff and ensuring that everyone at your building or demolition company understands the importance of proper waste management, will help a lot in the long run. Moreover, working with a professional, sustainable Sydney rubbish removal company will mean you’re always in good hands.
At Sydney City Rubbish, we prioritise sustainability at all times, ensuring a better outcome for your building company and the environment.
Get in touch with us today for a Sydney building waste removal project.
