Evaluating recycling potential of demolition waste considering building structure types: A study in South Korea

This study investigates the recycling potential of demolition waste (DW) according to building structure, while considering environmental and economic aspects For that, this study surveyed 1,034 residential buildings in Korea immediately before demolition to collect reliable information on demolition waste generation rates (DWGRs). This study classified the removal stages of buildings into the demolition, collection and sorting, transportation, and disposal stages. This study suggested a method for carbon emissions calculation for each stage and carried out an inventory analysis. The economic value of recycled DW materials was also calculated. Furthermore, the recycling potential was calculated based on the economic value and the environmental load for the current scenario, i.e., the current waste recycling rate in Korea, and the maximum scenario, i.e., the maximum theoretical recycling rate. Regarding building structures, the recycling potential of wooden structures was the highest in both the scenarios. However, masonry-block structures showed improved recycling potential in the maximum scenario. Regarding DW types, the recycling potential of plastics was the highest, with plastics from reinforced concrete (RC) structures showing 6.6 times higher recycling potential than those from wooden structures. And the possibility of improving the recycling potential was higher for glass and plastics than aggregates, timber, and metals. Through the above research, this paper devised an approach that can be used to plan a detailed construction and demolition waste management strategy, considering building structures and DW types, and this method can also be applied to other regions and countries.