Development of Strategies to Promote Circular Economy in the Management of Construction and Demolition Waste: A Case Study in Manaus, Brazil

Abstract

Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) cause environmental impacts in a worldwide scale. The existing international concern regarding the adequate management of CDW is justified by the large amount of this waste produced in a daily basis, together with its potential hazardous effects on ecosystems and human health. In countries with growing economies, like Brazil, it is of the utmost importance to promote sustainability-oriented practices that can co-exist with economic development. In this scope, the present research proposes strategies regarding the management of CDW based on the Circular Economy principles, focusing the case study of the municipality of Manaus, in the centre of the Amazon Forest. The characterization of the reference situation regarding CDW management in Manaus revealed several deficiencies, namely the lack of reuse and recycling opportunities, the unsupervised disposal of CDW in illegal landfills, together with insufficient surveillance procedures and inadequate policies from regional authorities like the Manaus City Hall and the Amazon’s Regional Council of Engineering and Agronomy (CREA-AM). The acknowledgement of these problems led to the identification of improvement opportunities and to the development and operationalization of Circular Economy promotion strategies: valorisation of CDW through the enhancement of reuse and recycling opportunities, operationalized through a mobile phone application; inclusion of sensibilization and surveillance practices regarding professional activities related to CDW management on the CREA-AM inspection plan; and the proposal of alterations in the municipal policies regarding CDW disposal in the public landfill. These strategies have been implemented in the Manaus municipality, but are easily adaptable to other Brazilian municipalities and even to other countries’ realities.