Development of the Circular Economy Design Guidelines for the Australian Built Environment Sector

Abstract

The construction and demolition (C&D) waste stream is the main source of solid waste in Australia. While there is a strong circularity drive in Australia’s and state/territory governments’ waste regulatory framework, clear guidelines for C&D waste management are yet to be developed for the built environment sector in Australia. This study proposes a suite of construction industry-specific guidelines for achieving circular economy (CE) goals by reviewing issues related to “Design for Zero Waste” (DfZW) and “Design for Recycling” (DfR). To do so, this study explores the current CE practices in construction and infrastructure projects in both global and Australian contexts through a systematic literature review. In addition, barriers and enablers of CE in the built environment were identified. This study provides a list of guidelines that can help industry practitioners achieve CE in the construction sector in Australia. These guidelines draw on the main themes identified through the literature review: circularity practices, resource management, innovation, and optimisation. Thus, this study bridges the gap between theory and practice by offering clear, circular guidelines for designing out C&D waste in Australia. The proposed guidelines enable industry practitioners to keep products and materials in use for a longer period and develop strategies to regenerate natural systems. Future research should focus on several aspects, including measuring emissions reductions linked to the strategies shown in the proposed guidelines.

Towards a complex push-to-pull dynamics in circular construction supply chains: a systematic literature review

“…In particular, China has currently dominated this research area, possibly because it is one of the early adopters of the CE as a national development strategy to tackle environmental problems(Sauvé et al, 2016). Australia ranks the second in terms of research output showing their active response to the fact that the construction & demolition waste in Australia is higher than the global average(Zaman et al, 2023). This world mapping also conforms with andMunaro et al (2020) who revealed the leading role of the UK in Europe.…”

Implementing Circular Economy throughout the Construction Project Life Cycle: A Review on Potential Practices and Relationships

“…This result is well-aligned with the study carried out by [35] in which design for disassembly and design for adaptability and flexibility are identified as strategies cited by every author. The main aim of design for disassembly is to provide the ability to carefully disassemble building components to maximise the potential reuse and recovery of building components and materials [51]. Design with high-quality, longperforming components is essential in order to increase the durability of the design and it directly impacts on the next-service life of the particular product or component [23].…”

“…Waste management is another aspect that needs to be considered during construction and many studies have identified that proactive waste management is better than reactive waste management. It has been identified that innovative processes and concepts have taken the lead in reducing waste generated at construction sites [51]. However, the authors opined that these in-site waste management options may incur additional costs; thus, a better analysis of positive and negative impacts should be considered before implementing the same.…”

Comparing Circular Kitchens: A Study of the Dutch Housing Sector

“…Generative aids support the integration of circular strategies or options during the design process [19]. Several authors have contributed to the development of design guidelines for a circular built environment, with an emphasis on achieving optimal environmental performance [19][20][21][22][23]. A similar focus on environmental performance is found in the study by Kręt-Grześkowiak et al [24], who reviewed 70 articles that offer guidelines for design for disassembly and design for adaptability and proposed a design process framework.…”

“…However, most of these articles did not study circular building components. Van Stijn et al [19,20], Eberhardt et al [22], and Zaman et al [23] did develop aids specifically for circular building components, and van Stijn and Gruis [12] reviewed 36 existing generative design aids and developed the "Circular Building Components Generator" (CBC generator), a generative tool for circular building components.…”