Construction and Demolition Waste Minimization and Material Valorization Through a Five-Pillar Management Plan: Evidence from Santiago, Chile

In the context of Latin American cities, the management of construction and demolition waste constitutes a strategic challenge. Rapid urban growth and the constrained capacity of disposal sites are generating escalating environmental, social, and economic pressures. Since this waste is generated throughout the life cycle of the building, its management is inherently complex. Consequently, comprehensive planning approaches are essential to mitigate waste generation and advance the reuse and recycling of materials in the construction sector. The methodology combined a systematic review of existing approaches with complementary fieldwork, including a semi-structured survey, interviews, and on-site observations in three construction companies, to identify planning deficiencies and weak practices. Based on these findings, a five-pillar waste management plan was designed, integrating sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and best construction practices. The plan was applied to a high-rise residential building project with a total constructed area of 13,801 m2, where the baseline waste generation indicator was 0.32 m3/m2, equivalent to an estimated 4410 m3 of C&D waste in the absence of a structured management plan. The plan was validated through a 20-month high-rise building project in Santiago, Chile. Results show a reduction of 1905 m3 of waste (43% below projected volumes), savings of USD 12,273 (35% of the waste management budget), and the recovery of 735 m3 of materials (30% of the total) for reuse and recycling. The final waste generation intensity reached 0.18 m3/m2, demonstrating a substantial improvement relative to the initial benchmark and facilitating comparability with other projects through normalized indicators. These outcomes confirm the plan’s potential to enhance environmental performance, deliver measurable economic benefits, and contribute to the transition towards sustainable and circular urban development.