Demolition waste recycling in China: New evidence from a demolition project for highway development

China’s rapid urbanization has led to rising construction and demolition waste (C&DW) amid a quoted recycling rate of only about 10%. Previous studies on C&DW recycling in China have focused on lack of awareness, weak regulation, limited markets for recycled products, and immature recycling technology. This paper investigates the recycling rate of demolition waste (DW) through a case study of the demolition process in a highway project in Taixing, Jiangsu Province, and data collected through analyses of past documents, field observations, and interviews with key stakeholders to provide contrary evidence that the recycling rate is much higher than reported. The reason for the discrepancy is that the reported recycling rate did not include the efforts of a myriad of relocated residents, small construction businesses, informal recycling establishments, developers, and road construction contractors. Proper estimation of the DW recycling rate in China should consider these efforts, especially from the informal sector.