Construction World November 2021

CONSTRUCTION WASTE MANAGEMENT

A Metso Lokotrack ® ST2.8 mobile scalping screen screening construction and demolition waste.

The pressure on South Africa’s landfill sites is one reason why the construction sector needs to recycle more of its rubble, but this practice could also bring down costs for contractors. SA MUST UP ITS GAME IN RUBBLE RECYCLING

T he industry lags seriously behind global best practice in terms of rubble recycling, according to Pilot Crushtec’s export manager, Fernando Abelho. While policy and enforcement could play a role in rectifying this, Abelho emphasises that contractors could gain immediate benefits from taking this route. “Through the application of mobile crushing and screening machines, demolished structures can be reprocessed and used in the rebuild process where fill is necessary,” he says. “This means less removal of rubble and hauling in of new material, which saves significantly on costs.” He adds that just having a primary crushing circuit on site could reduce operational expenditure on haulage.

could be cut by as much as a third. “As distributors for the world-class Metso range of crushers, we have the ideal equipment for recycling construction waste in urban areas,” he says. “The Lokotrack Urban LT106, for instance, is mobile and has a compact footprint for any construction site; specially suited for working in built-up areas, it also has enhanced capacity to reduce noise and dust emissions.” Beyond the construction site, there are plenty more reasons why the country should be recycling construction and demolition rubble, argues Abelho. Even though it is one of South Africa’s largest waste streams, there has been little progress to date in diverting it from landfills. When dumping at landfills, contractors are often encouraged to dump clean C&D waste by not being charged for clean material. However,

“Most developed countries are in fact well ahead of South Africa on the recycling of construction and demolition material – with the necessary laws in place and the systems to implement these effectively.”

Fernando Abelho, Pilot Crushtec’s Export Manager.

26 CONSTRUCTION WORLD NOVEMBER 2021 By reducing the particle size of material, trucks can carry more per load and the haulage cycles