Management of C&D waste from generation to final sink - do we forget the volatile harmful substances?

Large quantities of construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) are produced. Buildings in many countries are thermally insulated by insulation foam containing large amounts of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), which are both strong ozone depleting substances and greenhouse gases. The CFCs are released extremely slowly during use.

Therefore, the insulation material will still contain large quantities of CFC when the buildings reach the endof-life and are demolished. The management of C&D waste in relation to controlling the CFC releases is basically unregulated in contrast to end-of-life refrigerators also containing large quantities of CFC in the insulation material.

In the future, the development of new management strategies are highly needed because the quantities of C&D waste containing CFCs will increase. Strategies should focus on minimizing CFC releases during demolishing and recycling activities and obtaining CFC destruction either through foam waste incineration or by controlled microbial processes in landfills receiving the foam waste.

There are still a lot of unknown processes and factors that need to be investigated before cost-efficient strategies and technologies are finally developed.