Seoul City Promotes Maximizing Construction Waste Recycling...Mandatory Selective Demolition and Use of Recycled Aggregates

Mandatory Selective Demolition for Public Institution Projects Over 500㎡ to be Enforced from the 17th
Expansion of Mandatory Use of Recycled Aggregates in City-Commissioned Construction Projects

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 14th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will mandate selective dismantling and the use of recycled aggregate for construction projects commissioned by public institutions in order to fundamentally reduce the increasing generation of construction waste and maximize recycling.

The selective dismantling system requires the prior removal of hard-to-recycle waste such as waste synthetic resins and waste boards when demolishing buildings, preventing them from being mixed with recyclable waste like waste concrete. The system applies to demolition projects of buildings with a total floor area of 500㎡ or more commissioned by the national government, local governments, and public institutions, mandating the separation and dismantling of construction waste into 14 categories.

By implementing the selective dismantling system, mixed disposal that hinders recycling of construction waste will be fundamentally blocked, contributing to the expansion of high value-added recycling such as concrete aggregate and minimizing incineration and landfill. Furthermore, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is revising the environmental impact assessment review criteria to expand the selective dismantling system to private buildings, recommending that from January 2022, selective dismantling plans be included when establishing waste treatment measures, with plans to gradually expand this to mandatory implementation in the future.

In addition to the mandatory use of recycled aggregate stipulated in the "Act on the Promotion of Recycling of Construction Waste," the Seoul Metropolitan Government has enacted and implemented the "Ordinance on the Promotion of Recycling of Construction Waste in Seoul," mandating that for construction projects of 1000㎡ or more commissioned by Seoul and its affiliated organizations, at least 40% of the aggregate demand must be met with recycled aggregate.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is also revising the environmental impact assessment review criteria to expand the mandatory use of recycled aggregate from the public to the private sector, planning to mandate the use ratio of recycled aggregate for the private sector from January 2022 to further promote recycling.

Im Mi-kyung, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Living Environment Division, said, “The implementation of the selective dismantling and mandatory use of recycled aggregate systems is expected to drastically reduce construction waste,” adding, “Seoul will ensure thorough compliance with these systems in the public sector and expand them to the private sector to further promote the recycling of construction waste.”