Application of Sustainable Procurement Policy to Improve the Circularity of Construction and Demolition Waste Resources in Australia

Abstract

The sustainable management of construction and demolition (C&D) necessitates efficient waste minimisation policies. Sustainable procurement of recycled waste products (RWPs) is an encouragement-based policy approach that can serve this purpose. This policy aids stakeholders in enhancing the circular economy (CE) in the built environment (BE) sector. However, this procurement method is yet to be successfully adapted globally or in Australia. Hence, this study was conducted to shed light on the use of sustainable procurement in the Australian BE sector. Based on a mixed-methods methodology, 49 relevant academic, industry and government publications were analysed during the review process. The findings reveal that the two most significant obstacles are the lack of supportive organisational culture and uncertainty about RWP quality. In addition, implementing clear and supporting regulations and maintaining transparency and good governance are identified as the two most important enablers. A model was proposed to facilitate the adoption of sustainable procurement, based on the research findings. The study includes a number of suggestions to encourage the acquisition of C&D RWPs for construction projects. This review is anticipated to contribute to three areas: sustainable procurement theory, policy development, and BE sector practice.

Utilisation of certification schemes for recycled products in the Australian building and construction sector

“…In Case Study 3, an RPC was employed to verify the quality and compliance of the PwRC used in the project. The applied RPC was developed under the Roads to Reuse (R2R) Programme (Shooshtarian, Maqsood, Wong, & Bettini, 2022), which was managed by a collaboration between Main Roads Western Australia and the WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. This certification is currently used in several WA government projects to ensure the quality compliance and safety of PwRC applications in state road infrastructures.…”

“…These include inconsistent procurement of PwRC among Australian states and territories, imposition of various state product specifications, cheaper virgin alternatives, ineffective communications between parties involved, the lack of regulatory support for using PwRC and ineffective sustainable procurement practices. The latter has a pivotal role in the optimised uptake of PwRC but requires the right tools and policies to occur (Shooshtarian, Maqsood, Wong, & Bettini, 2022).…”

The Circular Economy Transition in Australia: Nuanced Circular Intermediary Accounts of Mainstream Green Growth Claims

“…For Architecture, Engineering, and Construction, awareness of circular building potential in terms of added value, stakeholder interest, and technologies correlates with moves to adopt these ideas in Australia [41]. Shooshtarian et al [42] find the lack of a supportive organizational culture and concern about the quality of recycled materials are the two biggest obstacles; more regulations, transparency, and good governance are identified as important. In the same sector, energy recovery from demolition waste is a new area for circular implementation, although it is low on the circular r-strategy hierarchy [43].…”

Circular economy in action: the application of products with recycled content in construction projects – a multiple case study approach

“…Each state and territory has developed different waste management strategies and guidelines to address the growing issue of waste landfilling (Shooshtarian et al ., 2020b). Some argue that events such as the ban on waste export imposed by some countries (Shooshtarian et al ., 2021), increased construction activities in the infrastructure sector (Shooshtarian et al ., 2022f; Ratnasabapathy et al ., 2020) and COVID-19-related construction material supply shortages (Shooshtarian et al ., 2022a, b; Caldera et al ., 2022) have together influenced the advancement of the Australian waste management system.…”