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# Construction & Demolition Materials

Construction and demolition (C&D) materials consist of the debris generated during the construction, renovatio n, and demolition of buildings, roads, and bridges. C&D ma terials often contain bulky, heavy materials that include:
concrete, wood (from buildings), asphalt (from roads and roofing shingles), gypsum (the main component of drywall), metals, bricks, glass, plastics, salvaged building components (doors, windows, and p lumbing fixtures), and trees, stumps, earth, and rock from clearing sites.
Reducing and recycling C&D materials conserves land fill space, reduces the environmental impact of producing new materials, creates jobs, an d can reduce overall building project expenses through avoided purchase/disposal costs.



## Wastes - Non-Hazardous Waste - Industrial Waste http://www.epa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/industrial/cd/inde x.htm

Last updated on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 

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C & D Materials Basic Information Where You Live C & D Landfills 

# Basic Information

EPA estimates that 136 million tons of building-rel ated C&D materials was generated in the United States in 1996.
The majority of this waste comes from building demo lition and renovation, and the rest comes from new construction. Roughly equal percentages of building-related waste are estimated to come from the residential and commercial building sectors. The estimated per capita generation rate for buildi ng-related debris in 1996 was 2.8 pounds per person per day.
The composition of C&D materials varies significant ly, depending on the type of project from which it is being generated. For example, materialsfrom older buildings is likely to contain plaster and lead piping, while new construction mat erials may contain significant amounts of drywall, laminates, and plastics. For building mate rials, EPA estimates the overall percentage of debris in C&D materials falls within the followi ng ranges*:

Concrete and mixed rubble 40-50% Wood 20-30% Drywall 5-15% Asphalt roofing 1-10% Metals 1-5% Bricks 1-5% Plastics 1-5%
*Analyzing What's Recyclable in C&D Debris (PDF) (4 pp, 105K, About PDF ) Ken Sandler, author. Originally published in BioCyc le , November 2003, Vol. 44, Iss. 11; p. 51.
See EPA's 2009 study on building-related C&D materi als for a detailed characterization of these materials:
Estimating 2003 Building-Related Construction and D emolition Materials Amounts (PDF) (60 pp, 722K, About PDF ) EPA530-R-09-002; March 2009 Provides a summary of EPA's latest data on C&D debr is. 

## Wastes - Non-Hazardous Waste - Industrial Waste Page 1 of 2 Basic Information | C&D Materials | Wastes | US EPA

9/22/2011 http://www.epa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/industrial/cd/basic.htmSignificant additional quantities of C&D materials are generated from the construction of

roads and bridges, from land clearing at constructi on sites, and at military installations. http://www.epa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/industrial/cd/basi c.htm

Last updated on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 

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