Effective action on waste prevention requires good data, which is why the National Zero Waste Council’s Construction and Demolition Working Group supported a new waste database and analysis report.
The report, Watching our Waste: A National Construction Waste Analysis in Canada Using LEED Certified Project Data, was authored by Light House, which collected and analyzed construction and demolition waste data from LEED projects across Canada. They compared that information to best practices in the industry and concluded that much higher diversion rates across the construction industry are possible.
In 2018, it’s estimated that industrial, commercial and institutional new construction and major renovations generated 1.41 to 4.77 million tonnes of waste each year, excluding residential construction and some other forms of demolition waste. By weight, concrete is the largest contributor to construction-related waste at 41.3% of the total, with wood contributing to 17% of total waste.
Businesses and governments across the country are increasingly recognizing that wood waste holds value, and are identifying opportunities to divert wood waste and upcycle it. Innovative solutions are emerging to tackle the wood waste challenge, as seen in a new video that highlights efforts to advance wood waste diversion.
To learn more about industry opportunities to reduce construction-related waste, read Metro Vancouver’s Construction and Demolition toolkit.
