What question did this study set out to answer?

To assess the environmental impacts and economic costs of managing 12 construction and demolition waste fractions across alternative treatment technologies to support circular economy transitions.

November 4, 2023The Science of The Total EnvironmentOpen Access

Environmental and socio-economic effects of construction and demolition waste recycling in the European Union

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Authors

DCDario CaroUniversity of Siena CLConcetta LodatoJoint Research Centre ADAnders DamgaardTechnical University of Denmark

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Implication

Life-cycle assessment reveals trade-offs between greenhouse gas reductions and economic costs across 12 construction waste streams, suggesting advanced recycling lowers overall societal costs.

Key Points

To assess the environmental impacts and economic costs of managing 12 construction and demolition waste fractions across alternative treatment technologies to support circular economy transitions.
Conducted a life-cycle assessment on 12 construction and demolition waste (CDW) material fractions comparing conventional landfilling to alternative recovery and recycling pathways.
Modeled environmental metrics and financial costs alongside broader societal external costs across the European Union using 2020 as a reference year.
Advanced recycling of construction and demolition waste reduces emissions by approximately 264 kg CO2-equivalent per tonne at an estimated direct cost of 25 EUR per tonne.
Achieving maximum recycling potential under current technologies across the EU corresponds to an annual emissions reduction of about 33 Mt of CO2-equivalent.
Recycling concrete, bricks, gypsum, and ceramics achieves superior environmental performance despite higher processing costs, ultimately lowering total societal costs by mitigating external damages.

Cite This Study

Caro et al. (2023) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a81da032d53a9cb21b6d7a2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168295

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Implication

Life-cycle assessment reveals trade-offs between greenhouse gas reductions and economic costs across 12 construction waste streams, suggesting advanced recycling lowers overall societal costs.

Environmental and socio-economic effects of construction and demolition waste recycling in the European Union

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Environmental and socio-economic effects of construction and demolition waste recycling in the European Union

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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