From a circular standpoint it is interesting to reuse as much as possible construction and demolition waste (CDW) into new building projects. In most cases CDW will not be directly reusable and will need to be processed and stored first. In order to turn this into a successful business case CDW will need to be reused on a large scale. In this paper we present the concept of a centralized and coordinated location in the City of Utrecht where construction and demolition waste is collected, sorted, worked, stored for reuse, or shipped elsewhere for further processing in renewed materials. This has expected advantages for the amount of material reuse, financial advantages for firms and clients, generating employability in the logistics and processing of materials, optimizing the transport and distribution of materials through the city, and thus the reduction of emissions and congestion. In the paper we explore the local facility of a Circular Hub, and the potential effects on circular reuse, and other effects within the City of Utrecht.
DOCUMENT
The construction and demolition is a resource intensive sector, with Construction and Demolition Wastes (CDWs) considered as the largest waste streams accounting for 374 million tonnes in Europe. Although the 70% target for material recovery of CDWs set in the European Union Waste Directive Framework has been achieved by most European countries, the majority of these Circular Economy (CE) practices are through backfilling and downcycling [1]. This poses opportunities for improving the circular practices in CDWs. With the increasing population and urbanization, cities have important role in realizing the CE ambitions for three reasons. These are (1) CE is incorporated in policy frameworks focusing on closing material loops in production and consumption in cities [2]; (2) City governments have the capabilities and resources to transition towards circularity of CDWs; and (3) City governments serve as the link between various stakeholders such as citizens, companies, and knowledge institutes, and therefore can drive changes towards the city. This study analyzes how four European cities namely Riga, Tartu, Barcelona, and Kavala use different forms of governance to address the challenges and barriers and ultimately increase the circularity in CDWs. The methodology is qualitative, multiple case study using interviews, city reports, site visits, and validation workshop. Results show that cities deploy various forms of governance to address barriers and speed up the transition to a circular economy. These include contracting waste management companies, collaborating in local and international projects, fines for improper waste separation and illegal dumping, subsidies for recycled materials, and green procurement. Despite the use of different forms of governance, the majority of CE practices in the city are still focus on recycling and recovery, which is the lowest degree of circular practices. There is also an increasing focus on middle-level activities, such as repair and remanufacture, as well as on high-level activities such as rethink and reduce, yet these activities are mostly small scale and experimental. Therefore, cities are still learning on the process and have potential to further explore and integrate higher level circular practices.The implications of this study for city governments include to (1) set stricter standards for circular procurement, (2) collaborate and establish strategic (long-term) partnerships between universities, citizen groups, NGOs and businesses, and (3) provide creative spaces for developing and implementing circular ideas.
MULTIFILE
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.
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