Descrizione 1
Costanza Mariotta
Construction and demolition waste represents, in absolute terms, the most significant flow of special waste produced both at the European and national levels. The construction sector, through its intensive use of natural resources, has a strong impact on the environment, leading to the depletion of raw materials due to the extraction of natural aggregates.
For this reason, the European Commission has prioritized the monitoring of construction and demolition waste flows, setting a specific target for reuse preparation, recycling, and other material recovery operations, including backfilling, under Article 11 of Directive 2008/98/EC on waste.
In 2022, the recovery and recycling rate for construction and demolition waste stood at 79.8%, exceeding the 70% target set for 2020 by Directive 2008/98/EC.
The indicator provides the quantity of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste, as classified under Chapter 17 of the Annex to Decision 2000/532/EC, excluding excavated soil and rocks as well as dredging materials, that is directed towards preparation for reuse, recycling, and other forms of material recovery.
The data source consists of the annual Environmental Declarations (MUD) submitted by obligated entities pursuant to Article 189 of Legislative Decree No. 152/2006.
In accordance with the target verification method outlined in Decision 2011/753/EU, the recovery rate must be calculated based on the amount of waste generated by construction and demolition activities.
In the absence of mandatory MUD reporting by waste producers, the amount of waste generated from construction and demolition operations—specifically those falling under Chapter 17 of the European Waste Catalogue—is estimated using a dedicated methodology. This approach relies on data contained in the MUD database relating to the waste management operations carried out on the aforementioned Chapter 17 waste streams.
The objective is to monitor compliance with Directive 2008/98/EC, which, in Article 11(2)(b), establishes a 70% target for the preparation for reuse, recycling, and other forms of material recovery (excluding natural materials such as soil and rocks coded as 170504 in the European Waste List).
Directive 2008/98/EC on Waste
Decision 2011/753/EU, establishing rules and calculation methods for verifying compliance with the targets set out in Article 11(2)(b) of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.
In pursuit of a European recycling society with a high level of resource efficiency, the European Commission deemed it necessary to include the waste stream generated by the construction sector among the priority streams subject to monitoring. Accordingly, Article 11 of Directive 2008/98/EC establishes a specific target for preparation for reuse, recycling, and other forms of material recovery, including backfilling operations that use waste in place of other materials.
This target, set at 70%, was to be achieved by 2020 and was transposed into national legislation through Article 181 of Legislative Decree No. 152/2006.
In this context, it should be noted that Directive (EU) 2018/851—part of the so-called Circular Economy Package—introduced a new paragraph 6 into Article 11 of Directive 2008/98/EC. According to this provision, by 31 December 2024, the European Commission shall assess the introduction of targets for preparation for reuse and recycling of construction and demolition waste, as well as for specific material fractions contained therein.
The calculation methods that Member States may adopt to verify achievement of the target established by the European Directive were defined by Decision 2011/753/EU.
Descrizione 2
ISPRA, Rapporto Rifiuti Speciali, Editions 2017-2024
ISPRA, Rapporto Rifiuti Speciali - Edition 2014
Improve information on construction and demolition waste treatment processes in order to assess the quality of the recycled aggregates produced.
Qualificazione dati
Use the information contained in the database of annual environmental declarations (MUD) submitted by obligated entities pursuant to current legislation (not accessible to the public).
National
2010-2022
Qualificazione indicatore
The calculation methods that Member States may adopt to verify the achievement of the target set by the European directive have been identified by Decision 2011/753/EU. Regarding waste from construction and demolition operations, the methodology outlined in Annex III defines the recovery rate of construction and demolition waste as the ratio between the “quantity of recovered construction and demolition waste” and the “total quantity of construction and demolition waste produced.” All data processing was conducted at the individual code level of the European Waste Catalogue.
For the calculation of the recovery rate, it is assumed that the annual production of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste (the denominator of the formula provided in the calculation methodology of Decision 2011/753/EC) is equivalent to the quantity of construction and demolition waste sent for recovery or disposal, excluding the quantities of waste subjected to intermediate management operations to avoid data duplication (preliminary treatment operations such as chemical, physical, biological treatment, and reconditioning). The information regarding the production of construction and demolition waste is transmitted in accordance with Regulation 2150/2002/EC on waste statistics and includes:
"a) Waste produced by Section F of the NACE Rev.2 code as mentioned in Annex I, Section 2, of the same regulation:
06.1 – Ferrous metal waste 06.2 – Non-ferrous metal waste 06.3 – Mixed metal waste 07.01 – Glass waste 07.4 – Plastic waste 07.4 – Wood waste
b) The total of the waste category (from all economic activities):
12.1 – Mineral waste from construction and demolition as per Annex III of the aforementioned regulation.”
For the calculation of recovered quantities, following the MUD database cleanup, the quantities of waste listed in Annex III of the mentioned Decision 2011/753/EU, sent for recovery operations (R3, R4, R5, R12), are considered, excluding the quantities of waste imported and recovered in Italy. Specifically, the recovered quantities of construction and demolition waste are reported, including only the following codes from Chapter 17 of the Annex to Decision 2000/532/EC: 170101, 170102, 170103, 170107, 170201, 170202, 170203, 170302, 170401, 170402, 170403, 170404, 170405, 170406, 170407, 170411, 170508, 170604, 170802, 170904. Therefore, in the calculation of the target, the quantities of excavated earth and rocks and dredging materials are not considered. The quantity of waste used for backfilling operations must be reported separately from the quantity of waste prepared for reuse, recycling, or other material recovery operations. The quantities of waste exported from the country for recovery/disposal operations in other EU and non-EU countries have been considered for the determination of the recovery rate, in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006 on the transboundary shipment of waste.
Based on the data analysis, the recovery and recycling rate of construction and demolition waste in 2022 exceeds the target set by Directive 2008/98/EC (70% in 2020), reaching 79.8% (Figure 1).
The recovery and recycling rate has continued to grow from 2010 to 2022, increasing from 68.5% to 79.8%, surpassing the target set by Directive 2008/98/EC (70% in 2020) as early as 2011 (74.1%) (Figure 1).
Dati
Table 1: Waste generation from construction and demolition activities according to the classification of Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 on waste statistics
ISPRA
Table 2: Preparation for reuse, recycling, and other material recovery of construction and demolition waste according to the classification of Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 on waste statistics, excluding backfilling
ISPRA
a) Includes quantities of waste sent for recovery operations at landfill sites: 439 thousand tonnes in 2018, 644 thousand tonnes in 2019, 503 thousand tonnes in 2020, 343 thousand tonnes in 2021, and 368 thousand tonnes in 2022.
b) Includes exports: 86 thousand tonnes in 2018, 110 thousand tonnes in 2019, 89 thousand tonnes in 2020, 120 thousand tonnes in 2021, and 128 thousand tonnes in 2022.
Figure 1: Trend in the percentage of preparation for reuse, recycling, and other material recovery, excluding backfilling, of construction and demolition waste
ISPRA
Figure 2: Quantity of construction and demolition waste recovered through backfilling operations (R10)
ISPRA
After the sharp decline recorded in the 2019-2020 period due to the health and socio-economic crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, a recovery in the construction sector was observed in 2021, continuing into 2022, although at a more moderate pace. It should be noted that this sector has been the subject of government incentives aimed at the energy refurbishment of buildings in recent years. These construction/renovation activities, along with the continuation and initiation of public infrastructure projects, have led to higher quantities of construction and demolition waste being generated. In fact, there was an increase of 1.9% in the quantities of waste generated from construction and demolition operations, corresponding to approximately 1.2 million tons, for a total of nearly 60.6 million tons nationwide in 2022 (compared to 59.4 million tons in 2021, Table 1).
Material recovery, totaling 48.3 million tons, excluding backfilling operations, increased by 1.6% compared to 2021, corresponding to 766 thousand tons (Table 2). For the mineral part of construction and demolition waste, the main form of recovery is the transformation into fine or coarse aggregates, which can be used in the production of concrete or asphalt or in road construction.
The recovery rate, calculated based on the production and management data for construction and demolition waste, excluding backfilling operations, stands at 79.8% in 2022, above the 70% target set by Directive 2008/98/EC for 2020 (Figure 1). As required by Article 4 of Decision 753/2011/EU, the quantity of waste used for backfilling operations is reported separately from the quantity of waste prepared for reuse, recycling, or other material recovery operations. In 2022, this quantity amounted to 437 thousand tons (62 thousand tons more than in 2021) (Figure 2). When including the quantities used for backfilling operations, the recovery rate reaches 80.6%.