Sorting at source and reusing: The case of construction and demolition waste in Turkey

Özet

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) are one of the major environmental problems, and thus, should be considered as a significant component of sustainable built environment. In theory, there are three main options to overcome the CDW generation problem such as reducing, reusing, and recycling. However, in practice, it is a general behavior to implement the first two options to deal with CDW in many developing countries such as Turkey. The main reason behind this may be the high initial investment cost and compelling regulations concerning CDW recycling plants. Hence, sorting at source and reusing activities for CDW emerge as two beneficial alternatives for the Turkish construction industry. Based on these aforementioned arguments, the objective of the current study was to identify and examine the specific perspective of construction firms about sorting at source and reusing activities in the Turkish construction industry. Toward this aim, a questionnaire survey was applied to construction professionals in Turkey. According to the findings, for Turkish construction firms, having a CDW management plan is not common, using landfills to dispose the waste generated is popular, accessing to CDW recycling plants is very limited, sorting at source practices are rare, and sorting CDW in separate containers is not preferred. However, construction professionals have positive approach on sorting at source, reusing, and recycling of the CDW and excavation soil, and the selective demolition method before recycling. In addition, the financial and physical support of local authorities seem to be important for dissemination of CDW management applications in Turkey.