The construction industry is responsible for a very significant part of the waste produced in Portugal. The high quantity of this type of waste, its heterogeneous constitution and its levels of danger, as well as the dispersed and temporary works, are a set of factors that aggravate the difficulty to correctly manage of the same.
For these reasons, construction and demolition waste (C&DW) is covered by specific legislation: Decree-Law 46/2008 of 12 March. The said Decree-Law establishes the regime of the operations of management of residues resulting from works or demolitions of buildings or collapsed, including their prevention and reuse, and their operations for the collection, transportation, storage, sorting, treatment, recovery, and disposal.