Urban construction and demolition waste and landfill failure in Shenzhen, China.
On December 20, 2015 at 11:40 am a landslide in one of China's most advanced cities, Shenzhen, killed 73 people and damaged 33 buildings. In the absence of heavy rainfall or earthquakes, the landslide was an unexpected and profound shock to many people. According to China's Ministry of Land and Resources, the landslide was triggered by the collapse of an enormous pile of construction and demolition waste (CDW). With China's rapid urbanization, an increasing amount of CDW is being generated, especially in major cities. In total, China produces some 30% of the world's municipal solid waste and of this about 40% is CDW. To prevent landslides associated with CDW, the volume of waste dumped in landfills should be regulated. More specifically 4-Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle and recover) policies should be implemented more widely and efficiently. Although landfill will continue to be an important disposal option, proper management and careful monitoring of CDW are urgently needed to satisfy pressing safety issues. International collaboration, sharing of knowledge, and use of the latest technologies are needed so that the similar landslides can be prevented in China and elsewhere.
State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Postboks 115, 1431 Ås, Norway; CEES, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: hongyanghy@gmail.com.
Hong
H
Yang
State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China. Electronic address: xiajq@whu.edu.cn.
Junqiang
J
Xia
UCL Department of Geography, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Julian R
JR
Thompson
UCL Department of Geography, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Roger J
RJ
Flower
D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D060389:Construction Industry; D003252:Construction Materials; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D062611:Solid Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities
D062611:Solid Waste
4-Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle and recover) policies; Construction and demolition waste; Landslide; Shenzhen; Urbanization