Barriers and countermeasures for managing construction and demolition waste: A case of Shenzhen in China

How to effectively deal with construction and demolition (C&D) waste problems has been challenging in many Chinese regions. This study investigated the most critical challenges and promising countermeasures of managing C&D waste in a typical economically developed region of Shenzhen in south China. Data were collected through review of literature and government regulations and reports, semi-structured interviews and group discussions with governmental staff and industry participants. Based on analyses of C&D waste generation, waste regulations, and major waste management practices in Shenzhen, five drawbacks were revealed, which are “immature regulatory environment for managing C&D waste”, “multiple government departments are separately involved in different C&D waste management processes but no one takes the leading role”, “lack of fundamental data in C&D waste”, “insufficient attention is paid to waste management in construction projects”, and “C&D waste recycling factories trudge toward growth”. Four measures are proposed accordingly, including “enhancing the effectiveness of C&D waste regulations in reality”, “collecting and releasing accurate C&D waste amount timely”, “enhancing C&D waste management”, “promoting C&D waste recycling further”, and “implementing an effective waste disposal charging fee”. Several practical measures are also proposed and discussed. The findings could be useful in aiding in establishing an interlocking system to improve C&D waste management practices.