GHG Emissions Assessment of Civil Construction Waste Disposal and Transportation Process in the Eastern Amazon

Luiz Maurício Maués, Norma Beltrão and Isabela Silva
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Luiz Maurício Maués: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil, Instituto de Tecnologia, Campus Universitário Guamá Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil
Norma Beltrão: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Ambientais, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Tecnologia, Universidade do Estado do Pará (UEPA), 66095-100 Belém, PA, Brazil
Isabela Silva: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil, Instituto de Tecnologia, Campus Universitário Guamá Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-26

Abstract: The urbanization process represented by an increased supply of housing and transport infrastructure has taken place at an accelerated rate in several regions of Brazil, especially in the metropolitan areas of the Brazilian Amazon. Despite the existence of environmental policies that guide the proper disposal of civil construction waste (CCW) in Brazil, the impacts of these policies are still negligible, pointing to the need to establish other metrics such as the measurement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in CO 2 eq associated with civil construction waste. This work aims to evaluate, in the second-largest city in the Brazilian Amazon, the environmental impact generated by the transportation of CCW to disposal sites, having as indicators the volume of this waste and the CO 2 emissions produced during a whole year. A literature review on life cycle carbon emissions assessment in building construction and CO 2 emissions in transportation are provided to establish the background of the research methodology. Data collection was carried out by searching large generators of construction waste, the companies responsible for transporting construction waste, and the types of vehicles used. Calculation of GHG emissions from CCW transportation was based on the method described in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines. The study identified a volume of waste of around 1244 m 3 /month, with a generation of 40,440 kgCO 2 /year, only from small and large generators. Besides the damage identified in this study, there is also the dumping of CCW into urban streams in the city which is causing negative impacts on sanitation and drainage systems. The results point to the need to strengthen local policies to mitigate the impacts of the existing CCW to contribute to a more sustainable city.

Keywords: civil construction waste; urbanization; CO 2 emissions; sustainable cities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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