Identifying Barriers to Reducing Ontario’s Construction Waste Through Reclamation, Reuse, and Recycling

Construction, renovation, and demolition waste contributes at least one quarter of all waste that is destined to landfill and incineration in Canada. This research hypothesized that residential renovations could play a significant role in decreasing the amount of waste through reuse of used building materials. It therefore sought to identify barriers to recycling, reclamation, and reuse of building materials in the Ontario construction, renovation, and demolition industry. Through a mixed-method survey of green building professionals five primary barriers were discovered. With greater leadership from green building professionals, materials and markets becoming more consistently available, and more buy-in from residential contractors and homeowners conducting renovations these barriers can be overcome and this type of project can help contribute to reduction of construction, renovation, and demolition waste in the province