Treatment Paths of Construction and Demolition Waste in Mainland China

Large scale construction and demolition (C&D) activities lead to nearly three-quarters of Chinese cities into the dilemma of “C&D waste siege”. Developing reasonable treatment methods of C&D waste has become one of the key parts of effective waste management. Previous studies mainly focused on management barriers and measures, recycling, and disposal sites planning. However, the research on treatment paths of C&D waste is very rare. This study conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 respondents to investigate treatment paths for C&D waste in Mainland China. The results show that (1) there are 12 treatment paths for C&D waste in the three treatment types; (2) according to the level of economic value, different types of C&D waste choose distinctive treatment paths; and (3) various cities choose different treatment paths for C&D waste with lower economic value. A series of management suggestions have been put forward for managing the waste, including (1) formulating C&D waste treatment strategy in line with local conditions, (2) reducing the knowledge gap of C&D waste treatment among stakeholders, (3) broadening the way of C&D waste recycling, and (4) expanding the market of C&D waste recycled products. This study provides a theoretical basis for future C&D waste treatment research and also puts forward decision-making basis for relevant decision-makers.