Circular economy in Brazilian construction industry: Current scenario, challenges and opportunities

Abstract

The effective implantation of the circular economy (CE) presents a great challenge to the industrial sectors, mostly in those of greater environmental impact, such as construction industry. In Brazil, this industry has been growing over the last 20 years; however, such growth was based on an extractivist economy without any consideration to the end of its products lifespan. Only in 2017, 45 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste were generated in the country. This paper presents the current context of public policies in the Brazilian construction industry and proposes initiatives to introduce principles of CE. An exploratory study was developed, and all the 45 references presented in Appendix A of the review paper of Benachio et al. were considered to draw new ideas. These ideas are related and compared to key points in Brazilian regulations. Twelve opportunities for the improvement are listed and organized by construction stages (planning and design, materials manufacturing, construction processes, use and demolition). The ones related to design and planning using Green building information modelling, and materials manufacturing with recycled waste are highlighted due to the existing actions, standards, and Federal legislation. It was found that some sectors and the government already have actions related to CE (based on the 3R principle), but still there are several initiatives needed for its effective implementation in the Brazilian construction industry.

Circular Economy and Buildings as Material Banks in Mitigation of Environmental Impacts from Construction and Demolition Waste

“…For Hentges et al (2022) [25], in Brazil, there are still no initiatives to encourage the circular economy in the construction sector, even though it is one of the most extractive industries in the country. According to these authors, government incentives are needed for works that adopt CE practices, as well as best practices for component removal, sorting, and waste management.…”

“…According to the authors, smart cities align EC principles for government and society around an urban context with low environmental impact [90]. When dealing with these technologies, BIM is also presented as a tool to be combined with LCA in order to evaluate the environmental impacts of the entire life cycle of the building through a digital tool [25].…”

“…The low cost of primary materials is another threat that differs depending on each country's natural resource reserves. Countries like Brazil, for example, still have a substantial reserve of natural resources to subsidize construction activities, meaning the market is not concerned with initiatives to make the sector more sustainable [25]. For Nunes and Mahler (2020) [104], Brazil, which has low-cost natural inputs for construction, is unable to make recycled or reused resources competitive, unlike Europe, which has greater recycling efficiency and more expensive raw materials.…”

“…To contain the problem, Zhang et al (2022) [17] suggest targets to be imposed for value-added reduction, reuse, and recycling (upcycling), together with tax incentives for companies that meet the targets. In the case of Brazil, Hentges et al (2022) [25] also warn of the market's concern with the accumulation of taxes on the product with each sale, which would make the different life cycles of a product unfeasible. Therefore, tax benefits for projects based on EC and using construction and demolition waste are essential and can be complemented with facilitated financing and reduced interest rates for this audience.…”

Implementing circular economy in the construction sector: Evaluating CE strategies by developing a framework

“…By putting up a framework, Hentges et al (2022) discussed the possibilities of implementing circular economy in the Brazilian construction sector. Possibilities such as waste sorting, valorizing wastes, and incorporating wastes from other industries were depicted as some of the opportunities to apply circular economy in the construction industry.…”