Transforming Construction Waste Analytics to Support Circular Economy and Carbon Footprint Reduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 232-264
Author(s):  
Vasilios Papastamoulis ◽  
Kerry London ◽  
Robert Crocker ◽  
Petros Patias
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Building Information

The fourth industrial revolution transforms the built environment through several highly intelligence systems such as drones, 3D printers, robotics, as well as building information modelling (BIM) and geographic information systems (GIS). This transformation has widely been applied in buildings. However, to establish environmental sustainability in the built environment, this transformation needs to be expanded in other sectors that impact climate change such as construction and demolition waste materials. The aim of this chapter is to introduce a new conceptual model that can measure construction and demolition waste in real time and optimise their carbon footprint spatially. A quantitative methodology that embraces a measuring protocol and geospatial research method is proposed for this purpose. The proposed model is capable of measuring the recycling potential result in construction sites to support the circular economy as well as to mitigate the associated carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) with materials' embodied energy, transportation, and treatment.

Circular economy in Brazilian construction industry: Current scenario, challenges and opportunities

2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2110450
Author(s):  
Tatiane Isabel Hentges ◽  
Elaine Aparecida Machado da Motta ◽  
Tania Valentin de Lima Fantin ◽  
Deivid Moraes ◽  
Mauro Acir Fretta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Current Scenario ◽  
The Government

The effective implantation of the circular economy (CE) presents a great challenge to the industrial sectors, mostly in those of greater environmental impact, such as construction industry. In Brazil, this industry has been growing over the last 20 years; however, such growth was based on an extractivist economy without any consideration to the end of its products lifespan. Only in 2017, 45 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste were generated in the country. This paper presents the current context of public policies in the Brazilian construction industry and proposes initiatives to introduce principles of CE. An exploratory study was developed, and all the 45 references presented in Appendix A of the review paper of Benachio et al. were considered to draw new ideas. These ideas are related and compared to key points in Brazilian regulations. Twelve opportunities for the improvement are listed and organized by construction stages (planning and design, materials manufacturing, construction processes, use and demolition). The ones related to design and planning using Green building information modelling, and materials manufacturing with recycled waste are highlighted due to the existing actions, standards, and Federal legislation. It was found that some sectors and the government already have actions related to CE (based on the 3R principle), but still there are several initiatives needed for its effective implementation in the Brazilian construction industry.

scholarly journals Circular Digital Built Environment: An Emerging Framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6348
Author(s):  
Sultan Çetin ◽  
Catherine De Wolf ◽  
Nancy Bocken
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Digital Twins ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Framework Development

Digital technologies are considered to be an essential enabler of the circular economy in various industries. However, to date, very few studies have investigated which digital technologies could enable the circular economy in the built environment. This study specifically focuses on the built environment as one of the largest, most energy- and material-intensive industries globally, and investigates the following question: which digital technologies potentially enable a circular economy in the built environment, and in what ways? The research uses an iterative stepwise method: (1) framework development based on regenerating, narrowing, slowing and closing resource loop principles; (2) expert workshops to understand the usage of digital technologies in a circular built environment; (3) a literature and practice review to further populate the emerging framework with relevant digital technologies; and (4) the final mapping of digital technologies onto the framework. This study develops a novel Circular Digital Built Environment framework. It identifies and maps ten enabling digital technologies to facilitate a circular economy in the built environment. These include: (1) additive/robotic manufacturing, (2) artificial intelligence, (3) big data and analytics, (4) blockchain technology, (5) building information modelling, (6) digital platforms/marketplaces, (7) digital twins, (8) the geographical information system, (9) material passports/databanks, and (10) the internet of things. The framework provides a fruitful starting point for the novel research avenue at the intersection of circular economy, digital technology and the built environment, and gives practitioners inspiration for sustainable innovation in the sector.

The Traceability of Construction and Demolition Waste in Flanders via Blockchain Technology: A Match Made in Heaven?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 347-369
Author(s):  
Jonas Voorter ◽  
Christof Koolen
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Waste Processing ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Legal Case ◽  
Made In

Abstract The construction sector plays a crucial role in the transition to a circular economy and a more sustainable society. With this objective in mind, Flanders – the Dutch speaking part of Belgium – makes use of a traceability procedure for construction and demolition waste in order to guarantee that value can be derived from downstream waste processing activities. This article takes this traceability procedure as a legal case study and examines if the use of blockchain technology could lead to even stronger supply chains, better data management, and, more generally, a smoother transition to circular practices in the construction sector.

scholarly journals Circular Economy on Construction and Demolition Waste: A Literature Review on Material Recovery and Production

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 2970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarence P. Ginga ◽  
Jason Maximino C. Ongpeng ◽  
Ma. Klarissa M. Daly
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Material Recovery ◽  
New Construction

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) accounts for at least 30% of the total solid waste produced around the world. At around 924 million tons in the European Union in 2016 and 2.36 billion tons in China in 2018, the amount is expected to increase over the next few years. Dumping these wastes in sanitary landfills has always been the traditional approach to waste management but this will not be feasible in the years to come. To significantly reduce or eliminate the amount of CDW being dumped, circular economy is a possible solution to the increasing amounts of CDW. Circular economy is an economic system based on business models which replaces the end-of-life concept with reducing, reusing, recycling, and recovering materials. This paper discusses circular economy (CE) frameworks—specifically material recovery and production highlighting the reuse and recycling of CDW and reprocessing into new construction applications. Likewise, a literature review into recent studies of reuse and recycling of CDW and its feasibility is also discussed to possibly prove the effectivity of CE in reducing CDW. Findings such as effectivity of recycling CDW into new construction applications and its limitations in effective usage are discussed and research gaps such as reuse of construction materials are also undertaken. CE and recycling were also found to be emerging topics. Observed trends in published articles as well as the use of latent Dirichlet allocation in creating topic models have shown a rising awareness and increasing research in CE which focuses on recycling and reusing CDW.

Gap analysis of green features in condominiums between potential homeowners and real estate agents

Facilities ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 630-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sui Pheng Low ◽  
Shang Gao ◽  
Ling Ling Grace Teo
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Gap Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Real Estate Agents ◽  
The Government

Purpose The building sector is one of the main contributors to carbon dioxide emissions in Singapore. Over 90 per cent of life-cycle carbon emissions are due to the operations phase of buildings, and 90 to 98 per cent of the building cost is associated with operation, maintenance and personnel costs. Hence, occupants have a major role in achieving environmental sustainability objectives. This study aims to understand the awareness level of potential homeowners and real estate agents concerning environmental sustainability issues in the built environment, to identify the types of green features required by potential homeowners and to understand real estate agents’ perceptions of the types of green features required by the homeowners in a green condominium. Design/methodology/approach The features of the Green Mark (GM)-awarded buildings, as well as the benefits derived by homeowners were identified from the literature. A survey of a group of potential homeowners and real estate agents was carried out in Singapore to analyse the gap, if any, between the potential homeowners’ needs and expectations and real estate agents’ perceptions of these needs and expectations with respect to the green features in the homes. Findings The results indicate that potential homeowners are more aware of environmental sustainability issues in the built environment than are real estate agents; potential homeowners seem to be more supportive of environmentally sustainable development than the real estate agents are aware of, despite the fact that the price of the apartment remains an important deciding factor; and potential homeowners are more concerned about the ease of maintaining green homes and paying greater attention to green features in the areas most heavily promoted by the government. However, green features do not constitute the main considerations of potential homeowners when making the decision to buy a green home. Research limitations/implications To close the gaps identified in the analysis, recommendations are suggested, including having public education and awareness campaigns to emphasize the long-term energy savings of green homes, conducting GM courses for real estate agents and involving real estate agents in the developers’ project consultancy team. Originality/value As there has been no prior research in this area, this study serves to provide fresh perspectives on how developers can better select the types of green features to be included in the green homes, so as to meet the potential homeowners’ needs and expectations and, at the same time, balance mandatory GM requirements with such demands. Choosing the right type of green features to incorporate in a residential development for homeowners to utilize increases the owners’ satisfaction level and allows them to reap the intended benefits of green features.

scholarly journals Research On Recycling Of Hardened Mortar From Construction And Demolition Waste

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-86
Author(s):  
Irina Smical ◽  
F. Filip-Văcărescu ◽  
G. Danku ◽  
V. Paşca
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Compressive Strength ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Standard Sample ◽  
Testing Machine ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Concrete Production ◽  
Compression Resistance

Abstract The recycling issues related to the construction and demolition (C&D) wastes in the sustainable development and the circular economy context represent a continuous challenge for researchers. This paper reveals the possibility to recycle the hardened mortar recovered from C&D wastes. Thus, the recovered hardened mortar with grains size less than 16 mm was used in the concrete structure. The compression resistance of the final concrete was determined using a Heckert 3000 KN testing machine and the results showed a better compressive strength for the samples with C&D waste content than the standard sample of about 1.19 times. This is a good premise for improving the researches related to C&D waste usage in concrete production.

A Quantitative Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Flexible Partitions

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-43
Author(s):  
Jia Beisi
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Partition Walls ◽  
Recycling Potential

Each person in Hong Kong produces three times more waste than that of Singapore. This is because a large portion of the waste in Hong Kong is from the construction sector. Re-decoration work carried out by dwellers in Hong Kong is one of the major sources of the construction and demolition waste. Development of flexible reusable infill systems with high recycling potential is significant. A number of these systems are currently used, mainly in public and commercial buildings. They may have potential to be applied in residential buildings in the future. This paper starts with an introduction to the infill systems applied in open building history. It then points out the need to investigate the development of infill processes by integrating infill products available in the market. The paper further introduces current open building studies on reusability of infill systems and addresses the problem that there is a lack of quantitative information on embodied energy and other environmental impacts of infill systems. In the methodology section the paper describes five types of partition walls selected, ranging from low flexibility to high flexibility. Applying an evaluation model for environmental impact, the paper analyzes embodied energy intensity, and environmental impacts of each partition systems in two simulated situations. One is in a two room unit of a public housing prototype and the other is in private apartment. It concludes that partition walls with higher flexibility are highly intensive in their embodied energy. In other environmental impacts, especially recycling potential, flexible partition wall panels exceed that of conventional block-work partitions. The study will enable more complete information to be obtained concerning the environmental impact of infill components and will assist architects and other building professional wisely apply open building design concepts.

SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT OF THE REPLACEMENT OF CLAY BRICK WALLS WITH IN-SITU COMPOSITE SANDWICH WALLS

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna Lawania ◽  
Natalie Lloyd ◽  
Wahidul K. Biswas
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
Clay Brick ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
In Situ Composite ◽  
Clay Bricks ◽  
Composite Sandwich ◽  
Ghg Reduction

Clay bricks are used for house construction in Western Australia. Clay bricks produce large amounts of construction and demolition waste, and have a large carbon footprint. In order to achieve energy savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, there is a need to use an alternative wall system. The objective of this paper is to undertake a sustainability assessment of the replacement of clay brick walls with in-situ composite sandwich walls (CSW). A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool has been applied to assess the carbon footprint and embodied energy consumption for non-insulated and insulated brick and CSW. The LCA analysis identified the stages or inputs/process causing the most significant impacts for determining further improvement opportunities. The findings indicate that a significant GHG reduction and energy saving can be achieved.

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