Construction Waste Facts
Building, demolition, and construction work require an incredible amount of resources and generate high volumes of waste. Lots of this is big, bulky, and heavy materials such as concrete, bricks, and rubble. It’s therefore little surprise that globally more than two billion tonnes of construction waste are generated every year.
Efficient construction waste management is important to reduce how much goes to landfills and to ensure it’s disposed of responsibly. This includes the rubbish produced on newly built construction sites, renovation work on private homes and buildings, and demolition projects.
To understand the true scale of how much construction waste is produced around the world and in the UK we’ve built this page combining various stats and facts. Dig into these construction waste facts and statistics to learn how much rubbish the industry creates in the UK and around the world.
Construction waste statistics in the UK
The UK construction market is valued at around £370 billion and expected to keep growing. More than two million people work in the UK’s construction sector across a wide range of projects. The sector has a big impact on waste in the country and is the leading industry for waste generation.
These UK construction waste statistics outline how much rubbish the industry produces:
- The construction industry produces 62% of the UK’s waste
- And 32% of all waste sent to landfills in the UK is from the construction sector
- It’s estimated that 13% of construction waste goes directly to landfill in the UK
- In 2016, the UK generated 2 million tonnes of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste (C&D waste)
- More than 90% of construction waste is recovered and reclaimed – often used as aggregate
- However, at least five million tonnes of construction waste still end up in landfill sites across the UK annually
- In total, the UK creates around 100 million tonnes of construction waste every year
- Over the past 10 years, 330,000 new homes have been built in the UK
- The UK construction industry uses 400 million tonnes of natural resources annually
Global construction waste statistics
Construction industry waste statistics vary across countries but globally more than two billion tonnes are created every year. The sector is huge in most nations and responsible for high volumes of waste. It’s estimated that the construction and demolition waste management market will be worth more than $270 billion by 2028.
Drill down into how much rubbish the sector generates worldwide with these global construction waste statistics:
- More than two billion tonnes of construction and demolition waste are produced worldwide every year
- One third of the world’s waste comes from the construction industry
- Global construction waste is responsible for at least 40% of carbon dioxide emissions in the world
- About 93% of construction waste is recovered and reused
- An impressive 98% of steel is recycled from global construction and demolition projects
- Up to 30% of materials delivered to a construction site can become waste
- Three-quarters of construction waste from wood, drywall, asphalt shingles, bricks, and clay tiles end up in landfill
- Over 40% of the world’s raw materials and resources are used and consumed by the construction industry
- The USA generates more than 600 million tonnes of construction waste annually
- Demolition of roads and bridges creates 43% more waste than building demolition
- New construction is responsible for just 5% of all construction and demolition waste in the US
Get rid of construction waste responsibly
Don’t add to any of the above construction industry waste statistics by reducing and disposing of your waste responsibly. We can provide free bins, containers, skips, and bags to segregate and store all waste your construction company produces. There are no delivery or hire charges – you only pay for collection.
All construction waste is removed by licensed waste carriers and disposed of away from landfill where possible. This involves recycling and recovering materials to help the environment and reduce your waste management costs. You receive a free duty of care certificate as proof and for added peace of mind too.
Get a free no-obligation quote for construction waste collection in the UK today – call 0800 211 8390 or contact us online.
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Published 6th March 2025 by Graham Matthews.