Waste generation, composition, and handling in building-related construction and demolition in Hanoi, Vietnam

This study conducted a survey at 15 building construction and demolition sites in Hanoi, Vietnam in order to identify waste generation rates (WGR), composition, and current handling practices of construction and demolition waste (CDW). Waste quantification based on CDW layout, image analysis to identify CDW components, and face-to-face interviews with construction and demolition contractors to reveal CDW flows were performed. WGRs of 79.3 kg/m² and 1,030 kg/m² were determined in small- and large-scale construction sites, respectively, whilst WGRs at small and large demolition sites were 610 kg/m² and 318 kg/m². The composition analysis identified soil, concrete, and brick as the major CDW components, consistent with building structures in Vietnam. The interviews discovered that merely 10% of total CDW flows was from recycled and reused CDW. Reuse and recycling rates were most significant for metal and were lower (in descending order) for brick, concrete, and soil. These findings raise a need for aggressive and integrated strategies to promote more sustainable CDW management in the country, including the development of recycled CDW product standards, policies that facilitate recycling, and more importantly, a sustainable business model for CDW recycling, for which future evaluations of economic feasibility are of great importance.