Chinese Firm Tackles Construction Waste Problem

By Zhang Yan



Chinese Firm Tackles Construction Waste Problem

By Zhang Yan

“Hollywood has a DreamWorks， and so do we.”

Three Chinese characters，Menggongchang （DreamWorks）， stand out starkly on the exterior wall of a factory in the suburbs of Beijing. the enterprise， the Beijing Yuantaida Construction Waste Resources Disposal and Utilization Integration Factory（hereafter referred to as “Yuantaida”） formally began production at the end of last year as a demonstration project of the China Strategic Alliance of Technological Innovation for Construction Waste Recycling Industry （hereafter referred to as“the Alliance”）.

In recent years， green， low-carbon cyclic development has combined to become an important part of national environmental strategy. The Chinese Government clearly defines environmental protection as one of the strategic emerging industries in the future， and policies regarding the construction waste recycling industry are under development. In September 2015， the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development jointly issued the Action Plan on Promoting Production and Application of Green Building Materials， requiring efforts be made to focus on construction waste disposal and recycling， as well as strengthening production technology and processing development for renewable building materials. It also includes plans that map out how to improve the solid waste absorption amount and quality of products.

3.5 Billion Tons of ‘UrbanTreasure' Annually

The phenomenon of a “city besieged by rubbish” is one particularly undesirable outcome of the urbanization process， and a major obstacle to new urban development. Among the rubbish， construction waste accounts for 40 percent - which has long been a “sore point” in urban planning. According to official estimates， the annual output of construction waste in China has reached 3.5 billion tons， including 1.5 billion tons from demolition of old buildings. Beijing alone creates over 40 million tons of construction waste a year. thus， proper treatment of construction waste is a pressing issue in need of a solution.

However， the disposal of construction waste in China is very primitive and rough：most of the waste is transported to the suburbs to be buried； a small amount is used for backfilling， and only a very small amount is recycled. According to official statistics，over 70 percent of construction waste in European countries and the United States is recycled. More than 95 percent of the same waste in Japan and South Korea is recycled. the Development Report of China's Construction Waste Recycling Industry shows that less than five percent of China's construction waste is recycled. Hence， China is in urgent need of an improvement in recycling practices.

“In fact， construction waste is not really waste； it can be transformed into treasure after being processed easily，” said Chen Jialong， an Executive Deputy Director of the National Committee of Construction Waste Management and Recycling， as well as a Professor at the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture. “The construction waste is first transported to a disposal site to be sorted， classified and supplied to corresponding companies or institutions for disposal. Generally speaking， abandoned concrete and bricks can be turned into coarse and fine aggregates， which can then be used to produce concrete， mortar， bricks， wallboard， ground tiles and other building materials. Having been mixed with curing materials， they can be used to build highway paving. Abandoned bricks， tiles，glasses， timbers， steel products and concrete reinforcing bars have high recycling value.”

Han Xianfu， Chairman of the Alliance，said： “This industry has broad market prospects but the task of popularizing it is arduous. If construction waste can be recycled well， it will not be a headache， but a treasure of each city and a green energy resource.”

Yuantaida is committed to turning construction waste into valuable building products and exploring a new model of efficient， clean and standardized construction waste disposal.

Astonishing Figures

According to statistics， construction waste processed at Yuantaida achieved 100 percent rates of waste recycling， environmental protection compliance and marketing rate of recycled products， a remarkable achievement even when compared to world leaders in recycling.

Beijing Yuantaida Construction Waste Resources Disposal and Utilization Integration Facility

In 2015， Yuantaida， on behalf of China's low-carbon environmental protection industry， was introduced at the 21st UN Climate Change Conference. At a Solutions Exhibition on the Low-Carbon Economy， the company's advanced waste recycling practices attracted broad interest. In only seven days， Yuantaida signed letters of intent with representatives of countries in ASEAN，North America and Europe to implement such practices.

Since 2011， when it was designated a pilot unit of construction waste recycling in Beijing， Yuantaida has invested over 500 million yuan （$76.9 million） in pooling domestic advanced construction waste recycling technologies. It can dispose of 1.5 million tons of construction waste annually and ensure 100 percent waste absorption. “At present， the investment of most domestic construction waste recycling enterprises is less than 100 million yuan （$15.4 million）， so an investment of 500 million yuan （$76.9 million） is really exceptional，” Han added.

The premises of Yuantaida are neat and clean， without any sign of waste. Only some noise in the workshops can be heard. According to the field engineer， Yuantaida's workflow is as follows：

1.Upon arrival， the waste transporting vehicle is weighed；

2.The waste is transferred to a storage workshop；

3.The waste is disinfected in the designated area；

4.the waste is sent to production lines to be turned into recycled products.

The whole process is environmentally friendly and dust-free， meeting green and low-carbon standards in terms of utilization of resources.

“the recycled sand and stones produced by the factory are no different and in some ways even better than ordinary ones in terms of quality，” said Guo Haibin， Secretarygeneral of the Alliance， noting that “the roads at the APEC meeting site adopted recycled materials of this factory.”

It is estimated that if the 3.5 billion tons of construction waste produced in China is recycled， three billion tons of natural sand and stones and 53，333 hectares of soil and landfill can be saved， and non-burned wall and ground materials equivalent to one trillion standard bricks can be produced.

Improving construction waste recycling is an integral part of efforts to conserve resources and energy， protect the environment and boost the value of recycled products.

Industrial Upgrading Boosted by‘Internet+'

Standardization is the key for Yuantaida to achieve its goals of boosting the value of recycled products， and a digitized approach makes this possible. The integration project has created a total of 106 standards for eight sub-systems including products， applied technologies， quality control， tests， energy saving，clean production， information technology and security. All of these systems have been applied to this project and constitute a whole new standard system of the Alliance.

At present， China's construction waste recycling mode is transitioning from the 1.0 mode centered on landfill to the 2.0 mode featuring moderate recycling rates and disposal via fixed facilities with secondary pollution. However， the world's developed economies are already moving to the 3.0 mode， which mainly adopts fixed facilities with average recycling rate of over 95 percent， basically achieving the standards for dealing with pollutants in the recycling process and conducting a market-oriented operation to make profits instead of depending on government subsidies. Yuantaida has reached the 3.0 mode.

“In the near future， the factory will be able to highly integrate digitized design， construction and manufacturing， network integration，smart production and management， material technology， energy technology， biotechnology and 3D printing technology，” Guo added. “It will achieve this through the ‘Internet +' operational mode to become an important growth point for China's emerging green recycling economy.”