Andersson, R and Buser, M (2020) On the road to nowhere? The challenges of aligning construction and demolition waste practices with circular economy. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 36th Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-8 September 2020, Online Event, UK.
Abstract
The sustainable management of construction and demolition waste (CDW) should play a significant role to achieve the sustainable development goals defined by the EU. The construction is still a major contributor to the waste generated within the European union and contributes with around 25-30 percent of the total amount. A crucial part to achieving a sustainable built environment and mitigate the negative effects on the environment is to support the reuse of construction materials. The EU has put pressure on the sector to increase the recycling figures for the member states, but Sweden is still far from achieving the targeted figures and there has only been minor improvements during the last few years. Previous studies have shown that there is a gap between the shared understanding of formal and informal processes and practices of CDWM and the principles underlying the circular economy model and sustainable thinking. In order to explore the gap between those two positions we draw on the concept of institutional logics. The institutional logic helps us to identify the socially constructed assumptions, values, beliefs, and rules by which individuals produce and reproduce social reality. The empirical material gathered for this qualitative study consists of 20 semi-structured interviews with industry practitioners and policy makers, a case study of plastic pipe recycling within a large Swedish contractor company and documents analysis of the legal frame and industry guidelines. By analyzing the material through the theoretical lens, we identify the contradictions and incompatibilities between those two logics which account for the lack of improving practice and the inability to achieve higher levels of reused CDW. In order to achieve the development of circularity in the construction industry, formulating policies and a regulatory framework based on the existing assumption may not be enough, we need a paradigm shift.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | circular economy, construction- and demolition waste, institutional logics |
| Index terms: | construction material, paradigm, sustainable development goal, built environment, practitioner, documents, demolition waste, construction industry, interview, institutional logic, case study, sustainable management, circularity, construction and demolition, qualitative study, plastic, recycling, European Union, circular economy, Sweden |
| Subjects: | practitioner, waste management, materials science, sustainable materials, research design and methodology, data collection methods, building materials, professional development, Geography, sustainable design, health safety and environment, physical geography and landforms, education and knowledge transfer, theoretical framing, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Roles and Professions, Sustainability, Health and Safety, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Information Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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