Abstract

The paper performs a critical overview concerning the construction and demolition waste (C&DW) management issues in Romania. Five main stages related to C&DW management are highlighted such as: (i) illegal dumping on public lands; (ii) C&DW collection and disposal in urban landfills; (iii) C&DW treatment and reuse in civil constructions (roads, coating material for landfills); (iv) regional integrated waste management systems; (v) recycling of building materials (e.g., cement industry and recycled aggregates). The paper reveals the poor monitoring of C&DW flows across Romanian counties and the geographical dimension of this waste stream collected by waste operators. The paper examines the current challenges in Romania and it reveals the future prospects to provide a reliable transition towards sustainable C&DW management activities. The targeted route: waste fractions can be recycled and/or reused as building materials via integrated waste management systems, which enable a circular economy in urban and rural municipalities.

Highlights

  • Construction and demolition wastes (C&DW) are one of the fastest-growing waste streams due to the economic development and urbanization process at a global scale

  • The paper points out the challenges of C&D waste management activities in Romania in the context of poor waste management facilities dedicated to this waste fraction

  • The paper identifies five stages of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) on the sustainable route starting with a worst-case scenario such as illegal dumping on surroundings towards building materials using recycled items under a circular economy approach

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Construction and demolition wastes (C&DW) are one of the fastest-growing waste streams due to the economic development and urbanization process at a global scale. This section reveals the uncontrolled waste disposal practices associated with the lack of collection and treatment facilities combined with a regional waste governance crisis and a poor economic market of recycled items resulted from the sole operational crushing plant in the county To combat such failures and to support the waste diversion from open dumps and MSW landfills, a circular system must be further developed in each county of Romania as suggested by stages III–V. Iasi county is the sole region with a positive count (red circle on the map) which means that all C&DW estimated to be generated seems to be covered by those collected This situation is explained by the large-scale works in the road infrastructure (e.g., the rehabilitation of tram lines) in Iasi in previous years, the continuous development of the residential construction sector (houses, villas, blocks) and offices, resulting in large quantities of asphalt waste from the excavation: soil, stones, gravel, mixtures of C&D waste [22]. Neamt County is located in the North-East Region of Romania, which covers five cities and 78 communes (rural municipalities) with a total population of 470,766 inhabitants according to the latest population census in 2011

Urban Areas
Rural Areas
Findings
Conclusions

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.