Resource-saving Potential of Secondary Materials from Building Demolition Waste in Restoration Construction

Abstract

This article addresses a persistent issue: whether demolition and dismantling waste from buildings can be turned into a fully-fledged construction resource rather than merely material for landfills. The relevance of the topic is driven by three concurrent factors: rapid growth in construction waste volumes, increasing scarcity of natural non-metallic materials, and the need to reduce environmental pressures.

The aim of the work is to substantiate the conditions and technologies under which demolition waste can realistically be brought back into the construction cycle. Priority is given to the actual composition of the waste, the specifics of its processing, permissible areas of application, and environmental safety requirements.

The analysis of the regulatory framework, scientific publications, and international practice shows that it is not all construction waste has resource value, but only the mineral fractions extracted from it, namely concrete and reinforced concrete waste, broken bricks, asphalt concrete waste, and their processed products. The article proposes a process flow chart for obtaining secondary materials that fundamentally begins not with crushing, but with pre-disassembly inspection, selective disassembly, sorting, and removal of foreign matter. It emphasizes that the quality of the secondary product is determined throughout the entire waste management process, not just at the mechanical processing stage.

The calculation model for assessing the resource-saving effect is developed. It accounts for losses at each stage – from the initial composition of the waste stream to quality control of the finished batch – and does not replace laboratory tests but provides a predictive estimate. Scenario calculations for 10 000 t of demolition waste showed that the yield of suitable secondary mineral material can vary from 1 638 to 5 468 t. With a demand for natural material of 8 000 t, this provides a substitution rate of 20,5 to 68,3 % – a more than threefold difference determined solely by the quality of work organization.

It is established that the application of secondary materials must follow a strictly cascading pattern: from the least demanding uses (fill, grading, landscaping, road subbases) to more demanding ones (concretes, mortars, precast elements). Each step up this cascade is feasible only with mandatory verification of the physical and mechanical properties of the specific batch.