Recycling Techniques for Construction and Demolition Waste

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) represents one of the largest waste streams worldwide, comprising concrete, brick, masonry, plaster, timber and metals. Recycling CDW not only reduces the burden on landfills but also conserves natural resources and lowers greenhouse-gas emissions. Traditional approaches rely on crushing and sieving to produce recycled aggregates (RA), which are then used in concrete, road base and landscape applications. However, the heterogeneity of CDW requires more sophisticated beneficiation methods to ensure consistent quality. In recent years, automated sorting technologies—optical, hyperspectral and sensor-based—have been integrated with mechanical processes to separate contaminants such as ceramics, timber and plaster. Hydrodynamic techniques, notably water jigs, exploit density differences to enrich concrete fragments, while multi-stage hydraulic jigging refines the purity of coarse RA. Surface treatments and targeted separation of brick fractions further enhance strength and reduce water absorption. Advances in real-time particle size distribution (PSD) monitoring enable continuous control of aggregate grading, improving performance in high-strength mixes. Collectively, these innovations underpin a more circular economy for the built environment, allowing recycled materials to meet or approach the specifications of primary resources and thus enable large-scale adoption across regions.

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Recycling Techniques for Construction and Demolition Waste publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in recycling techniques for construction and demolition waste across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW): Debris generated from building construction, renovation and demolition comprising concrete, bricks, metals and other materials.

Recycled Aggregate (RA): Aggregates produced by processing CDW to replace natural sand and gravel in construction applications.

Particle Size Distribution (PSD): Representation of the proportions of particles of various sizes within an aggregate sample, influencing concrete workability and strength.

Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI): Technique that captures and analyses a wide spectrum of light to identify material composition, enabling precise sorting of heterogeneous waste.

Jigging: Hydrodynamic separation process that uses pulsating water currents to segregate particles by density, enriching target materials while removing contaminants.

References

1. Intelligent optimization of particle size distribution in unscreened recycled coarse aggregates using 3D surface analysis. Journal of Industrial Information Integration (2025).
2. Characterization of CDW types by NIR spectroscopy: Towards an automatic selection of recycled aggregates. Journal of Building Engineering (2024).
3. Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling through Conventional Jig, Air Jig, and Sensor-Based Sorting: A Comparison. Minerals (2021).
4. Production of High-Quality Coarse Recycled Aggregates through a Two-Stage Jigging Process. Minerals (2022).
5. Separação óptica do material cerâmico dos agregados mistos de resíduos de construção e demolição. Ambiente Construído (2013).
6. Upgrading the Quality of Recycled Aggregates from Construction and Demolition Waste by Using a Novel Brick Separation and Surface Treatment Method. Materials (2020).
7. Recovery of Demolished House Rocks from Construction and Demolition Waste with Water Jigs. Minerals (2023).