A best practice policy for recycling and reuse in building

Abstract

Industrial ecologists, recognising the impact of industry on the environment, have developed reduction strategies including the reuse and recycling of materials. World wide, the reduction of natural resource consumption has been investigated and applied to various industries with varying degrees of success. This paper focuses on the construction industry, using thematic analysis to locate the world's best practice with respect to construction and demolition (C&D) waste legislation. It identifies the Netherlands and Denmark as current leaders in C&D waste management and reports on the results of a policy analysis, which concluded that landfill levies, landfill material bans, material segregation and certification are the main contributors to waste reduction. A meta-analysis of Australian state legislation reveals that these policies are largely absent, rendering current legislation ineffective. A model of legislative best practice is presented that is applicable to the Australian context and which incorporates the concept of designing for disassembly—a technique that already exists in other manufacturing industries. By implementing these policies, there is potential to decrease waste through reuse and recycling within the building industry.