Circular Environmental Impact of Recycled Building Materials and Residential Renewable Energy

Abstract

Building materials, due to their mass and energy-consuming production processes, drastically increase the embodied energy of construction. This study assesses circularity processes for the construction industry with a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a case study located in a large cosmopolitan city. The research concludes that a significant decrease in environmental impacts results from a shift to recycled materials in the construction phase, as well as from changing the landfill disposal method to recycling. In particular, it was found that the use of recycled building materials (such as recycled cement, metal, concrete, or glass) during the construction phase and recycling disposal methods lead to an overall decrease of impact up to 65%. This work also underlines the importance of circularity in renewable energy production systems. In both wind and solar systems, most of the environmental impact caused during the production phase are paid back during the second year of their life due to the energy gains of the renewable energy system. However, the recovery of metal depletion requires 667 years. This result provides evidence of the emerging need for integrating circular processes regarding recycling and reusing materials in construction and also in the energy-generating sector.

Balanced scorecard and eco‐innovation in the industrial sector: A strategic map for environmental innovation

“…Through strategic mapping, this study offers a practical-managerial instrument for industrial managers for the mitigation of environmental impacts. A similar conclusion can be found in the studies by Severo et al, 2017;Angelis-Dimakis et al, 2016;Papadaki et al (2022).…”

Global Policy Review on Embodied Flows: Recommendations for Australian Construction Sector

“…It quantifies the decarbonization challenges and recognizes Australia's opportunities to mitigate embodied flows through optimizing material usage, utilizing low-carbon materials and construction technologies. Alternative material solutions, including geopolymer concrete, environmentally responsive concrete admixtures, and recycled materials, are proposed to substantially lower embodied flows [9,25,113]. Switching to renewable energy sources for material manufacturing and building construction is also one of the most effective methods of achieving embodied emissions reductions [112,114].…”

The effect of flame retardants on the fire technical characteristics of recycled textiles

“…[1][2][3][4][5] With the increase in the prices of building materials, including wood, new building components are being developed, the main component of which is recycled and natural materials. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Bio-materials made from renewable resources have recently been developed based on the concepts of bio-economy and low-carbon economy. Renewable raw materials such as pulp and recycled textile fibers are used to produce value-added products such as environmentally friendly thermal insulation materials.…”