Public Buildings Demolition Requires Separate Dismantling of Waste Concrete, Waste Plastics, and Other Waste Materials

Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Construction Waste Act Approved at the Cabinet Meeting

Targeting Public Buildings with a Total Area of 500㎡ or More... 91% Meet the Area Criteria
Ministry of Environment: "Waste Disposal Costs Decrease and Recycling Revenue Increases, Total Costs at 98% of General Demolition"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] From now on, when demolishing public buildings with a total area of 500㎡ or more, construction waste must be dismantled and discharged separately by type. This is to prevent difficult-to-recycle waste synthetic resins (plastics) and waste boards from being mixed with recyclable waste concrete and the like.

The Ministry of Environment announced that the partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the "Act on the Promotion of Recycling of Construction Waste," containing these details, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 30th and will be enforced from the 17th of next month.

Although the principle is to separate construction waste by type, there have been concerns that construction waste is mixed and recycling is hindered because combustible and non-combustible interior and exterior materials that lower the quality of recycled aggregate, along with waste concrete, are demolished together at construction sites.

The recycling rate of construction waste itself was high at 98.3% as of 2018, but 75% of the recycled aggregate is used as fill or cover soil on the ground during land development. Due to mixed discharge, additional separation and sorting costs occur, and the quality degradation of recycled aggregate hinders high value-added recycling.

Accordingly, through the amendment of the Enforcement Decree, when the state, local governments, and public institutions order demolition work for public buildings with a total area of 500㎡ or more, construction waste must be dismantled and discharged separately by type (14 types), including waste concrete, waste wood, waste synthetic resin, waste metals, and waste boards. Based on the total area (500㎡), 91% of public buildings fall under the category of separate dismantling.

An official from the Ministry of Environment said, "Although demolition and dismantling construction costs increase with separate dismantling, the cost of separate dismantling is about 98% of general demolition work due to reduced waste disposal costs," adding, "By fundamentally blocking mixed discharge that hinders recycling of construction waste, it is expected to expand high value-added recycling such as concrete aggregate and minimize incineration and landfill."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.