Ukraine to scale up recycling of war-related demolition waste

Ukraine needs to scale up the use of demolition waste for industry and create economic incentives for its reuse.

Source: Ministry for Communities and Territories Development

Details: According to RDNA5 data, around 14% of Ukraine's housing stock has been damaged or destroyed, with total losses estimated at US$61.1 billion.

As of April, more than 6 million tonnes of demolition waste have been recorded, though this figure only includes waste moved to temporary storage sites – actual volumes are significantly higher.

Ukrainian officials met with representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to review the results of a pilot project on demolition waste management and are preparing for the next phase of cooperation for 2027–2029.

Deputy Minister Nataliia Kozlovska said that such waste is already being recorded in at least six regions.

"In fact, every hromada is dealing with this – there is no region without destruction. Therefore, the solutions must be scalable nationwide," she said. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]

The pilot project, launched in 2024, is being implemented in Kyiv Oblast and five particular cities – Odesa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kherson – and has enabled both the testing of approaches and the rollout of practical solutions on the ground.

Ukraine has received the necessary equipment for waste processing, conducted specialist training, begun developing material recycling, and introduced systematic monitoring and analysis.

In Borodianka, a technological cycle for processing materials has already been established, allowing them to be reused in road construction.

Manufacturers are expected to integrate recycled materials into production, the ministry said, with the key requirement being the quality and safety of the final product in line with established standards.

The Japanese side supported the need to develop clear technical requirements for products made from recycled materials, which could form the basis for market development and business involvement, particularly in road construction.

Participants also focused on the issue of handling asbestos-containing materials. Currently, Ukraine uses various protocols developed by international organisations, but there is no unified approach.

The ministry stressed that there is no safe use of asbestos and that unified rules must be developed – from identification to disposal.

Meanwhile, Ukraine lacks laboratories for rapid analysis of hazardous materials, with some tests still carried out abroad.

JICA will provide the necessary equipment to enable on-site analysis and plans to expand training programmes for specialists, which will help partially address the issue.

The Ministry for Communities and Territories Development has outlined key areas for further work: improving the legislative framework, developing recycling and reuse, creating economic incentives for reuse and large-scale training for hromadas and businesses on waste management.

Background:

• Ukraine is considering a full "lifecycle" approach to demolition waste – from its generation to the reuse of materials.
• A processing line for environmentally friendly recycling of construction waste resulting from Russia's armed aggression has already been launched in Borodianka, Kyiv Oblast.
• Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has helped clear 1 million tonnes of debris in Ukraine.

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