Maria Girich on regulation of the construction waste industry through establishing registers of carriers and development of recycling

The expert noted the importance to trace waste movement, but emphasized the need to develop recycling.

“Introducing registries will, on the one hand, help to ensure that construction waste is disposed by the authorized companies (i.e., listed in the registry) and also to track disposal of waste in landfills designated for such type of waste. On the other hand, it is unclear whether such a measure is sufficient for waste disposal at illegal landfills. Some other countries, such as Korea and Japan, introduce systems for tracking the movement of waste (including containers that carry waste); currently Russia uses GLONASS for municipal solid waste (MSW),” said Maria Girich.

However, the expert also stressed the importance of developing recycling systems for construction waste, using the EU experience as an example and emphasizing the economic and environmental benefits of such an approach. “It is worth noting that according to OECD estimates, construction and demolition waste accounts for about 30% of waste in the countries. Therefore, in Russia it is important to develop systems of construction waste recycling rather than mere utilization and disposal systems. For example, the EU legislation set a target of up to 70% reuse and recycling of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste. Meanwhile, recycled waste is an important resale market for recovered useful materials. For example, according to WEF data, extraction and recycling of cement, steel, aluminum and gypsum from construction waste will help to earn up to $360 bn of economic value. Recycling construction waste can generate 200 times more jobs than sending waste to landfills and incinerators.

Furthermore, dumping construction waste causes major harm. Harmful chemicals and heavy metals in construction waste can seep into soil and water. A high level of greenhouse gas emissions from waste should be noted. According to WEF, the total steel market is estimated at 2.2 bn tons, of which approximately 50% is used in construction.

It is worth noting that many countries have policies that offer incentives and subsidies in the form of financial grants and tax breaks for setting up recycling facilities for construction and demolition waste,” said Maria Girich.