Diagnosis of civil construction waste management from the reading of the urban landscape

Abstract

Civil construction can be identified as one of the industries that mostly cause environmental impacts due to the exploitation of natural resources and high waste generation rates. The current study aimed to report the main areas subjected to inappropriate C&DW (Construction and Demolition Waste) disposal in Presidente Bernardes County-SP- Brazil, based on its characteristics and spatial analysis. Methodological procedures adopted to characterize these areas comprised visits to disposal points, photographic records, geographic coordinates’ demarcation and direct observation of C&DW composition. Forty (40) irregular disposal points presenting more than 3 m³ of deposited C&DWs were demarcated after a detailed investigation about the urban perimeter and its access routes. The county’s area was subdivided according to urban features. All analyzed points presented Class A waste, whereas 82.5% of them presented Class B, and 47.5% presented Class C and D. In addition, 20% of the analyzed points had domestic waste, which evidenced the power attractiveness of C&DWs. Based on results in the current study, it was possible identifying the main irregular disposal areas, as well as estimating the discarded waste volume and its composition in order to substantiate the implementation of a differentiated waste management system in the county.

Keywords:
Environment; Environmental risk; Inadequate disposal; Waste