Yi, Yanqing (2025) New model for integration life cycle assessment and system dynamics to support the process of construction and demolition waste management. PhD thesis, Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy.
Abstract
The generation of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) in the European Union (EU) is substantial and continues to increase, representing a pressing concern. Due to its unique composition compared to other solid waste, C&DW is recognised as more complex to manage, resulting in significant environmental impacts. C&DW reduction is subject to binding targets at the European level, creating an urgent need for effective C&DW management (C&DWM) strategies. Selecting C&DWM solutions is a complex task, requiring the identification of efficient strategies that balance appropriate practices, regulatory compliance, resource conservation, economic feasibility, and environmental considerations. The selection of an appropriate multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method is vital for the C&DW system. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely utilised to assess environmental impact, yet the economic aspect has not been adequately incorporated into the LCA process in the field of C&DWM. The life cycle costing (LCC) methodology has been tailored to assess economic performance in conjunction with LCA. To support decision-making for C&DWM alternatives, this study combines LCA and LCC outcomes, using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for weight determination and applying the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to identify the most favourable alternative. Four waste management alternatives were examined in the Lombardy region of Italy: (i) landfill; (ii) recycling for concrete production and road construction with incineration and energy recovery; (iii) recycling for road construction; (iv) recycling for concrete production and road construction. The most suitable scenario was determined to be recycling for concrete production and road construction, with a score of 0.711/1, while landfill scored 0/1 as the worst choice, signifying the highest environmental impacts and least economic benefits. Moreover, C&DW reduction could be achieved by applying various policies, and the current study integrates a traditional LCA with a system dynamics (SD) model to evaluate C&DW reduction and its environmental performance under various policies. This LCA-integrated SD model simulates the real-time impact scores of Italy's C&DWM system for the period 2010 to 2050. Scenario analyses suggested that the adoption of waste reduction policies - including simultaneously increasing landfill tax, decreasing design changes, applying low-waste technologies, and improving regulation execution - could effectively mitigate resource use and environmental burden in the life cycle of C&DW, with integrated policy exceeding the effectiveness of all single policies in reducing CO2 emissions.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Lavagnolo, Maria Cristina |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction and demolition waste management; multi-criteria decision-making; life cycle assessment; system dynamics |
| Index terms: | recycling, life cycle, topsis, European Union, recovery, environmental performance, CO2 emissions, costing, road construction, scenario analysis, effectiveness, life cycle assessment, design change, construction and demolition, strategy, multi-criteria decision-making, resource conservation, waste reduction, preference, landfill, methodology, decision-making, integration, system dynamics, regulation, regulatory compliance, waste management, environmental impact, Italy |
| Subjects: | computing systems, value management, air quality, political science, decision analysis, organizational analysis, performance management, civil engineering, management, contractual arrangements, operations management, environmental policy, waste management, environmental impact, policy studies, decision-making and optimization, Geography, sustainable design, accounting and finance, research methods, decision-making and reasoning, physical geography and landforms, sustainability assessment |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Geographical Context, Risk Management, Sustainability, Procurement, Digital Applications, Organizational Design, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Governance |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here