Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is the most important waste stream in the EU in terms of mass, with around 340 million tonnes between 2010 and 2018 (EEA, 2020). Most member states achieved a recovery target of 70% for this fraction, however, it is mainly based on backfilling or downcycling. Materials coming from demolition and renovation work are not often available for reuse or recycling activities, with some noticeable exceptions in the case of some pioneering Urban Resource Centres (URCs). URCs are physical centres that promote the circular economy at local level (Partnership on Circular Economy, 2019) prioritizing reuse, preparation for reuse, upcycling and remanufacturing activities over material recycling. This is an emerging concept throughout Europe, that has received much policy attention given its potential to help achieve Circular Economy goals set by the European Commission. So far there have been no systematic analyses of URCs, their operation and their impact. The goal of our paper is twofold: 1) to understand how frontrunning URCs currently operate and 2) to derive conclusions/policy recommendations/design principles for URCs. This article presents a comparison of seven URCs that to some extent allow the reuse of CDW in their locations. The data has been gathered in guided study visits to the different locations, complemented by additional information provided by the managers of the URCs through their yearly reports and follow up conversations. The research took place as part of the project Centers for Urban Resources, Reuse and Remanufacture (Cure+), which aims to establish URC pilots in the four project cities (Riga, Tartu, Kavala and Barcelona).
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Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) is the main driver of resource consumption and waste generation in Europe. Although most European countries achieved 70% recovery rate of CDW, the majority is used for backfilling. Therefore, opportunities for Circular Economy (CE) practices in CDW management are underexploited. This research identifies the innovative practices, barriers, and enablers for developing tailored-made designs of Urban Resource Centre (URC) for managing CDWs in four European cities namely Riga, Tartu, Kavala, and Barcelona. Qualitative methods using multiple case studies were used to draw generalizations from cases. Data was collected from reports and interviews with different stakeholders, and a validation workshop for designing URC of each city. Current innovative practices include recycling and upcycling of CDWs; use of green points, exchange platforms, and waste management apps; repair cafés; selective demolition; and (pilot) initiatives on resource centers that function as material exchange point, recycling center, workstation for repair and creative ideas, and prototyping hub, among others. The identified barriers and enablers can be categorized as governmental, market, and individual factors. First, local governments (municipalities) play a key role for facilitating CDW management via both support such as provision of subsidies, green procurement, and mandatory waste sorting, and through strict regulatory requirements. Second, URCs must be locally rooted with inclusion of citizens, grass roots initiatives, and schools/universities to increase community acceptance, awareness, and education on CDW management. Third, partnerships with local stakeholders, such as repair cafes, waste management companies, and local NGOs, is needed to operate the URCs both in short- and long-terms. And fourth, the creation of niche markets such as linking localism (e.g. locally crafted CE stores) and supplying to businesses in need of CDWs, can support the operation of URCs. The identified barriers and enablers can help further improve the design of URCs for each city.
MULTIFILE
Across Dutch municipalities, unusual collaborative initiatives emerge that aim to stimulate the creation of value from municipal waste resources. Circular economy literature proposes that experimentation competences are important for developing initiatives towards circular business models and a wide range of innovation frameworks and business model toolkits have been developed to support the development of circular business models based on experimentation.However, more insight is needed to understand how experimentation contributes to the development of urban upcycling initiatives, in particular those where collaborative business models are created. Literature suggest that business model experimentation occurs differently in various collaborative contexts. For example, depending on the type of initiating focal actors involved, collaborative business models develop along different pathways Therefore, we aim to understand how experimentation occurs in various types of collaborative urban upcycling initiatives and we investigate the following research question: How do stakeholders in collaborative urban upcycling initiatives use experimentation to develop circular business models?
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