In Latin America, over half a million tonnes of waste are produced each day—yet only 10% is recycled. As populations grow, this figure is only set to increase, particularly as the region is highly urbanised: by 2050 it is estimated that 80% of the population will live in cities. As cities grow, protected territories are increasingly encroached upon—with more than 2400 square kilometres of protected areas lost to urban development between 1996 and 2010. The Latin American construction industry is highly linear, and depends upon the use of energy-intensive materials like concrete and steel for much of its housing production. Construction and demolition waste is also a significant issue—yet a lack of sufficient research in the field prevents countries from quantifying just how severe the economic and environmental impact of poor management is. Additionally, the region is prone to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, yet lacks contingency planning for such events—resulting in huge quantities of debris being dumped in landfills. 

 The report details what little legislation in the region exists regarding sustainable construction. Argentina, for example, has formulated a Strategic Plan for Waste Management toward Circular Economy, which aims to create a system for property managing urban solid waste, including construction and demolition waste. Brazil, a pioneer across Latin America, has had an industrial plant for recycling such waste in place for the last two decades—however, a lack of regulations prevent research on its effectiveness. Mexico is one of the only countries in the region with a solid plan for circular construction, and aims to boost the weight of recycled construction and demolition waste from 206 tonnes to 8000 tonnes by 2024 through their 2019 Zero Waste Plan.

As noted above, few regulations exist in the realm of construction and demolition waste management—and few or no incentives to adopt circular practices are given by governments of the region. A future step would be to increase incentives via taxes or cash for improved construction waste management, also implementing a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach with strong regulatory action from governments. The report notes that more creative solutions will be necessary in the future, for example in the form of educational campaigns and vocational training on the importance of waste reduction.