Rubble recast: Navigating the road to efficient C&D waste recycling

On August 28, 2022, the Supertech twin towers in the national capital region of Noida were demolished by a ‘controlled implosion’. The 100-metre towers turned into rubble in just 12 seconds, producing a whopping 80,000 tonnes of debris in the process.

So, what happened to this huge demolition waste? Well, around 37 per cent of this waste, which is close to 30,000 tonnes, was sent to a concrete & demolition (C&D) waste plant in Noida to get scientifically processed. India generates 450 million tonnes of C&D waste annually and only a fraction of this is getting processed. This is why understanding the process of managing and recycling C&D waste is critical.

India is among the fastest urbanising countries, with its floor space expected to nearly double in the coming decades. The rapidly expanding construction industry accounts for 40-50 per cent of global resource extraction, contributing massively to environmental degradation.