Traditionally, construction and demolition waste (CDW) materials have been considered to be unwanted, surplus, or wastage materials or materials with zero value. Such a conceptualisation only embraces a negative aspect, which underpins the disposal of reusable and recyclable CDW materials in landfills, thus damaging the circular economy and the environment. The scope of this research was to conceptualise the circular economy potential of non-hazardous construction and demolition waste, which can be used as a resource for advancing the circular economy and sustainability in the built environment. Thus, the abbreviation ‘CEPCDR’ is used for this purpose. The study employs an integrative literature review to understand in depth whether the rationale in the existing CDW definitions advocates for the circular economy. Instead, the literature showed that the current definitions mainly support quantitative, economic, or classification needs, respectively. That is because they lack consideration of the dynamic nature of CDW materials, which embraces the spatial and temporal dimensions. The former involves the geographic context in which the CDW phenomenon eventuates, while the latter concerns the lifecycle of materials. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by conceptualising the CEPCDR using a holistic approach that includes five dimensions: the social, economic, environmental, spatial, and temporal perspectives. Furthermore, the study seeks to drive future research in measuring the CEPCDR.
The fourth industrial revolution transforms the built environment through several highly intelligence systems such as drones, 3D printers, robotics, as well as building information modelling (BIM) and geographic information systems (GIS). This transformation has widely been applied in buildings. However, to establish environmental sustainability in the built environment, this transformation needs to be expanded in other sectors that impact climate change such as construction and demolition waste materials. The aim of this chapter is to introduce a new conceptual model that can measure construction and demolition waste in real time and optimise their carbon footprint spatially. A quantitative methodology that embraces a measuring protocol and geospatial research method is proposed for this purpose. The proposed model is capable of measuring the recycling potential result in construction sites to support the circular economy as well as to mitigate the associated carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) with materials' embodied energy, transportation, and treatment.
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