1. Circular Economy Opportunities in The Construction Sector
November 21st 2017
Mark Hilton
Head of Sustainable Business

2. Study approach Establish boundaries to the study
In geography, material and product types
Horizon Scan – to focus on priority projects
Pipeline of future construction projects by sub sector to understand future material demand and potential construction and demolition waste (material supply)
Assessing Circularity Potential
Review CE opportunities for each material across construction lifecycle steps
Review CE opportunities for each sub sector across construction lifecycle steps
Assess each sub sector for scale, ease of influence, use of priority materials, and potential impact

3. Preferred outcome
Pipeline of construction and demolition projects by sector
Using policy interventions to increase the sweet spot in the middle
Pipeline of construction and demolition projects by sector
Circularity opportunities
by sector
Potential circularity of materials used in construction
Potential circularity of materials used in construction
Circularity opportunities by sector

4. Sector spend and potential impacts
Average annual spend
Total Material (t)
Total Tonnes of CO2e from Material
Total Tonnes of Construction Waste
Total Tonnes of Demolition Waste
Infrastructure
£2,775,394,000
14,487,557
971,388
557,854
1,518,141
Non Housing R&M
£2,261,607,000
13,004,240
8,481,026
411,612
47,494
Commercial
£2,227,872,000
12,810,264
8,354,520
405,473
46,785
Private Housing
£1,773,780,000
10,199,235
6,651,675
322,828
37,249
Housing R&M
£1,696,458,000
9,754,634
6,361,718
308,755
35,626
Public Non-housing
£1,611,821,000
9,267,971
6,044,329
293,351
33,848
Public Housing
£561,105,000
3,226,354
2,104,144
102,121
11,783
Industrial
£206,230,000
1,185,823
773,363
37,534
4,331
Total Work
£13,137,240,000
73,936,076
39,742,162
2,439,529
1,735,257
Combined WRAP benchmark data and CITB data on future construction spend to produce this table
Public sector spend and procurement was identified as a key opportunity area to influence

5. Circular construction opportunities
Large Infrastructure & Regeneration projects
Modular design for deconstruction & reuse at end of 1st life, material passports
Timber
Aggregates
Plasterboard
Steel/ Aluminium
Retrofit, reuse & refurbishment
Closing material loops
Utilisation

6. Target subsectors by material
Timber - significant in social housing plans - strong local timber frame sector
Aggregates - civil engineering and large regeneration areas
Steel (e.g. super structure) and Aluminium– commercial, industrial, health and schools. (Structural steel recycling is ~90%, reuse ~5%).
Plasterboard – all sectors, both construction and refurbishment
Plastics – all sectors (windows, doors, gutters etc.)

7. Timber, Aggregates, Steel and Plasterboard
Potential Measures
Supporting the development of:
modular production facilities – pre-fabrication
Design for Disassembly (DfD)
material selection and standardisation for reuse
Raise client, designer and contractor awareness of technologies and benefits
Develop good practice in:
selective deconstruction protocols,
material testing and recertification;
e.g. European handbook on deconstruction of gypsum systems.

8. Timber, Aggregates, Steel and Plasterboard
Potential Measures (cont.)
Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs)
Supply and demand co-ordination tools e.g. Steel and Timber Frames
Public procurement target and requirements e.g.
recycled aggregate/ plasterboard targets
DfD and Material Passports
Pre-demolition audits etc
Fiscal / regulatory measures to support secondary materials

9. Plastics Potential Measures Product recycled content targets
EPR schemes for certain products
Pre-demolition audit requirements
Partial deconstruction
On-site segregation of hard plastics
Increased residual C&D waste sorting
Standards for product identification and DfD
ID: Use of tracers and watermarks

10. Refurbishment, Repair & Maintenance
Potential Measures
Evidence base - CE benefits of procuring product service systems
Embed CE requirements into public procurements e.g. Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency (NDEE) Framework):
Recycled content targets
DfD and material optimisation
GPP Core criteria for refurbishment audits
Support NDEE framework contractors to develop Product Service System offers.

11. Large Infrastructure & Regeneration projects
Potential Measures
Circular Scoping Studies – to establish the feasibility of applying/ embedding CE principles across large mixed-use developments or large infrastructure e.g.:
Glasgow - multiple regeneration projects
Dundee Waterfront
Edinburgh St James.
Aggregates working group across major schemes
Assess potential and priority location for Building Material Reuse Centres (BMRCs) to facilitate exchange of materials