The investigation of collecting, discarding, and recycling the construction waste in Tehran

In Tehran, 18,596 tons of construction refuse is daily produced that has an undesirable quality. The solid refuse management requires the knowledge of collecting, recycling, discarding and also finding out the constituent parts of construction refuse. This survey represents the opinions of the executives of the municipalities in Tehran regarding the process of collecting, discarding and recycling the construction waste.The demolition and construction of administrative, commercial, and residential structures are the main source of such waste. The amount of construction refuse in Tehran between 1373 and 1382 is estimated at 97,102,198 tons, of which 6,787,603 tons were discarded in the pits of the capital’s suburbs in 1382.In Abali pit, the quantity of construction waste amounted to 4,878,058 tons (the same year) that was transported by 531,900 trucks. The figure comprises 72% of the entire discarded refuse in the pits around Tehran.According to the investigations conducted in 1382, the ratio of recycled waste to the total amount of waste in Abali pit has been 11.62× 10 percent that includes 6.1×10 percent of brick, 2.5× 10 percent of tin sheets and iron cans, 1.6×10 percent of iron and metal ware, 0.98×10 percent of various sorts of metal pipes, 0.4×10 percent of plastics and plastic gunnies, and 0.09×10 percent of Aluminum. Meanwhile, brick with 51% forms the highest amount of all recycled materials.In comparison with the developed countries such as Denmark, where 95% of the construction refuse is recycled, Iran possesses a great potential for investment in this area.Nowadays, in advanced countries, recycled pebbles made from a combination of debris, are used in cement and the production of concrete. Also, brick pieces are used as one of the constituent parts of pebbles and glass fractions are wielded in asphalt or tar-bound roofing.In line with the sustainable civil development, the above-mentioned substances can be used as filling, drainage, and substructure materials in designing parks, flattening declivities, making precincts and, constructing roads. At present, the storage, collection and transportation of such refuse is carried out by non-governmental organizations supervised by Tehran hygiene department affiliated to the Recycling Organization.Developing a systematic method for collecting, transporting, discarding, and recycling of soil and construction refuse in Tehran is an effectual step towards the advancement of the goals of the sustainable civil development.