An evaluation model for city-scale construction and demolition waste management effectiveness: A case study in China

Abstract

The growing generation of construction and demolition waste (CDW) has emerged as a prominent challenge on global environmental agendas. However, the effectiveness of CDW management (CDWM) strategies varies among cities. Existing literature predominantly evaluates the effectiveness of CDWM at the project level, offering a localized perspective that fails to capture a city’s comprehensive CDWM profile. This localized focus has certain limitations. To fill this gap in city-scale evaluations, this study introduces a novel model for assessing CDWM effectiveness at the municipal level. An empirical investigation was conducted across 11 cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to operationalize this model. The model defines five distinct levels of CDWM effectiveness. Findings indicate that Hong Kong consistently achieves the highest level (level I), while the majority of cities fall within levels III and IV. This pattern suggests that CDWM effectiveness in the GBA is moderately developed, with uneven progress in CDW management outcomes and supporting systems. Essentially, there is a lack of synchronous development of CDWM results and guarantee systems. The proposed evaluation model enriches existing CDWM research field and offers a framework that may inform future studies in other countries.