Change looms for C&D waste

State government plans to overhaul longstanding regulatory issues in the construction sector to improve its poor recycling record are key components of its 2030 waste recovery strategy.

Construction and demolition waste such as bricks, timber, and tiles represents 33 per cent of waste generated in the state, according to a report by the Waste Authority, and can be processed and used as road base, infill, and construction material.

In its 2018-19 annual report, the Waste Authority found 77 per cent of C&D waste was recycled, almost reaching the state government’s goal of 80 per cent of C&D waste to be recovered by 2030, as outlined in the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy.

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However, the report said the high recovery rate was likely due to the stockpiling of C&D waste by builders and recyclers, and the dumping of waste to avoid levies at landfill sites. 

It said declining C&D waste disposal had coincided with scheduled increases in the waste levy in January 2015, from $8 to $40 per tonne. 

C&D recycler M8 Sustainable managing director Tom Rudas said the lack of regulation around stockpiling waste meant some recyclers were charging construction companies less than it cost to process the waste, driving prices down and making it difficult for recyclers who were trying to do the right thing. 

“If you can have the ability to store then you can bring your prices right down because your costs are substantially lower than someone who is physically doing the work to make it into a product,” Mr Rudas told Business News. 

Recyclers had no obligation to process the waste they collected, he said. 

“You get a processing licence, but what you choose to process is up to you, it’s your land,” Mr Rudas said. 

“Effectively there is no obligation for you to recycle per se, even though your licence says you are a recycling yard.” 

He said construction waste was often driven to regional landfills to avoid the high metropolitan waste levy, making it cheaper to put the material into landfill than to recycle it. 

The ‘Closing the Loop: Waste reforms for a circular economy’ report said there were concerns the waste levy may be driving large-scale stockpiling, illegal dumping or the disposal of waste at inappropriate facilities, and offered proposals to address long-term stockpiling. 

Waste Authority chair Reg Howard-Smith said one of the options included applying a waste levy to stockpiles stored for more than 12 months at specific solid waste facilities. 

The government was considering legislative approaches, such as the GPS tracking of trucks to improve waste and data reporting, which could stop metropolitan waste being taken to regional areas for disposal, he said. 

Consultation on the paper was held from February to July of this year, and Mr Howard-Smith said the government was reviewing submissions. 

Reuse

Mr Rudas said another challenge of operating in the sector was that recycled construction materials were not often used in Western Australia, and it could be hard to find markets for recycled products. 

“When you do finally produce a product, test it, it complies, your second issue is our state, or Perth metro, has an abundance of virgin products like sands and road base,” Mr Rudas said.

“Getting your product into the market is pretty challenging. 

“Even a small amount of utilisation by Main Roads would have a massive impact.” 

He said recycled product would not replace virgin materials, and instead they could be blended together.  

Mr Howard-Smith said it was pivotal to ensure Main Roads and local governments used recycled materials in their new developments. 

“We are having discussions and we are very keen, and so is Main Roads, to use as much recycled material as possible, and we have to guarantee the integrity of that with strict testing regimes,” Mr Howard-Smith told Business News.

“If Main Roads successfully use material, which they have already demonstrated in pilots will work, then local councils will follow; some are, but we would like a lot more.” 

Mr Howard-Smith pointed to the redevelopment of Hamilton  Senior High School as an example. The school has recycled almost all the original materials, with 85 per cent of that base to be used in the new project. 

A recent survey of construction professionals, led by ActiveSustainability in collaboration with Foundations Research, Earthcare Consulting, and Murdoch University, called ‘Expanding reuse opportunities for recycled construction materials’, found a majority of respondents thought the government mandating the use of recycled materials in contracts would increase the uptake of recycled materials.