A mini review of construction and demolition waste management in India

The growth of the Indian construction sector is expected to result in a significant demand-supply gap with respect to construction materials such as sand, limestone, and aggregates. Additionally, the vast quantity of unprocessed Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste pose serious problems in some places, particularly in residential, institutional, industrial or commercial construction hotspots. While several waste quantification methodologies have been proposed in the literature, the quantification of waste generation in India is inadequate. This inadequacy can be attributed to the lack of appropriate hierarchical control mechanism, absence of a common C&D waste estimation method, and the lack of C&D waste processing knowledge among generators, collectors, operators, regulators, and the general public. The C&D Waste Management Rules 2016 were introduced to ensure organized collection, storage, transportation, treatment/processing, and disposal of C&D waste in India and fix responsibilities of all stakeholders for management of C&D waste. This comprehensive research attempts to analyze the existing legislation and challenges, and proposes an information framework for organized collection, storage, treatment/processing, and disposal of C&D waste. The C&D waste processing mechanism, potential application of recycled C&D waste products, its limitations, and the best practices of C&D waste management in India are important constituents of the proposed framework.