EU calls on industry to put a spin on products

The Circular Economy Package could bring a significant rethink of how we use materials, says Charlie Law.

Construction and demolition are, in volume terms, among the biggest sources of all waste generated in the European Union, making up 25%-30% of the total. This consists of numerous materials – including concrete, bricks, gypsum, wood, glass, metals, plastic and excavated soil – many of which are already recycled or reused to various degrees. But could we do more?

In December 2015 the European Commission put forward a Circular Economy Package, which includes revised legislative proposals on waste, to enable industries to become more efficient with resources and to facilitate the move to a more circular economy.

In a circular economy the value of products and materials is maintained for as long as possible; waste and resource use are minimised, and resources are kept within the economy when a product has reached the end of its life, to be used again and again to create further value. This is a move away from the “take-make-dispose” linear model of economic growth that was relied on in the past.

Construction and demolition waste was one of the key areas addressed, to help meet the existing EU-wide mandatory target of reusing or recycling a minimum of 70% (by weight) of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste (excluding soils) by 2020. The next steps will be for the European Parliament and Council to prioritise adoption and implementation of the proposals.

How this affects the industry

The package includes a comprehensive Action Plan to address all phases in the lifecycle of a product: from production and consumption to waste management and the market for secondary raw materials. This includes a number of steps that will target market barriers in specific sectors or material streams, including critical raw materials and construction and demolition.

The plan states: “For example, valuable materials are not always identified, collected separately, or adequately recovered. The Commission will develop targeted guidelines for use on demolition sites for that purpose.” This could imply that pre-redevelopment audits will be required, as well as the promotion of sorting systems and voluntary recycling protocols, which could see the relaunch of resource management plans.

It also promotes the efficient use of bio-based products, such as timber, to ensure the best value is realised through cascading uses through their lifecycle. This could mean the use of a “wood first” policy.

Another key area recognised in the new package is that it is essential to encourage design improvements that will increase the durability, recyclability and reusability of components within buildings. The Commission will develop indicators to assess environmental performance through the lifecycle of a building, and promote their use through large demonstration projects and guidance.

Despite its potential, the industry has been slow to adopt circular economy principles on construction projects, partly because they are seen to be too difficult to achieve. The right regulatory framework, combined with measures to make implementation clearer and simpler, should help contractors, manufacturers, designers and clients to make the transition.

With ever-increasing pressure on global resources, we need to look at how we can recover more value from materials in the waste stream or, better still, not let them become waste in the first place.

Changing the way we build

Although a number of circular products are readily available, a more holistic approach is required, understanding how the components interact over time.

So how should we do this? Greater collaboration between designers, contractors and manufacturers is a key step. Manufacturers will be the main drivers of change as they are recognising that, by reusing, remanufacturing and recycling components, they will benefit from lower raw material costs and improved resource security.

What we need is for manufacturers to look at these circular economy solutions, such as fixings that allow products to be disassembled and reused at the end of their service life, and for designers to look at how they incorporate components so they can be easily recovered. For example, we might go back to laying bricks in lime mortar, which is more easily removed.

Adopting new business models

Although take-back schemes do exist, at present there is little incentive for the manufacturer to collect their product at end of life. Many construction materials are of relatively low value, and may be costly or impractical to recover.

If the manufacturer retained ownership of the products, and the logistics solutions were put in place to allow economical recovery, there would be a greater incentive. This would reduce their reliance on virgin raw materials and avoid fluctuations in commodity prices.

However, it will require a number of factors to come together for the whole system to work. Contractors need to be ready to deliver new business models, working closely with manufacturers. The design community will need to incorporate circular products to allow for easy recovery. And, most importantly, the client needs to accept these changes, and start asking: “How circular is my building?”

Charlie Law is founder and managing director of Sustainable Construction Solutions