Construction and demolition waste mean the waste comprising of building materials, debris and rubble resulting from construction, re-modeling, repair and demolition of any civil structure. It is a challenging task to handle C&D waste because it is bulky, heavy and inert and also mixture of various materials of different characteristics. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3Rs) philosophy is highly useful in handling of C&D waste. Recycling of C&D waste is important as it helps to reduce the dependence on natural resources and eliminates adverse environmental impacts. Recycling of C&D wastes has the additional advantage of controlling the quantum of C & D waste destined for disposal at landfills besides reducing transportation costs.

Status of C&D Waste Management

For effective management of C&D waste, the State Government is implementing the Government of India’s notified Construction & Demolition waste management rules, 2016. Department of Housing & Urban Development has prepared action plan for monitoring of construction & demolition activities of the buildings within the State of Punjab. The Department of Local Government through 153 ULBs has identified 193 sites for storage of C&D waste being generated from these ULBs. The remaining ULBs are in the process of identifying such sites so that the C&D waste can be managed and handled in an environmentally sound manner.

(Source: “Action plan for monitoring of waste management in the state” Directorate of Environment & Climate Change, Punjab as cited on 17.06.2021)