The State of the Art of Material Flow Analysis Research Based on Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling and Disposal

Abstract

Construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) are widely recognized as the main form municipal solid waste, and its recycling and reuse are an important issue in sustainable city development. Material flow analysis (MFA) can quantify materials flows and stocks, and is a useful tool for the analysis of construction and demolition waste management. In recent years, material flow analysis has been continually researched in construction and demolition waste processing considering both single waste material and mixed wastes, and at regional, national, and global scales. Moreover, material flow analysis has had some new research extensions and new combined methods that provide dynamic, robust, and multifaceted assessments of construction and demolition waste. In this paper, we summarize and discuss the state of the art of material flow analysis research in the context of construction and demolition waste recycling and disposal. Furthermore, we also identify the current research gaps and future research directions that are expected to promote the development of MFA for construction and demolition waste processing in the field of sustainable city development.

Mining the Built Environment: Telling the Story of Urban Mining

“…The result was a perfect storm in academia that propelled material flows and stocks to the forefront of industrial ecology and metabolism research. Today, industrial ecology is a well-established research field that is specifically interested in analyzing material flows and quantifying stocks (both in and out of use) to better understand social, economic, and ecological real-world issues [11,[32][33][34][35] The Role of Material Stock in Industrial Ecology Research Material stocks are considered the building blocks of society due to their essential social, economic, and ecological roles. Material stock, such as buildings and infrastructures, deliver services to society, such as shelter and transportation.…”

“…Waste management: This category included all waste and resources efficiency concepts [34,36,37], current recycling and recovery rates, and the future potentials in light of policy frameworks and/or management systems, which are themes that are generally addressed in this category of research. For example, Graedel's (2011) study evaluated the recycling potential of metals in the periodic table and discussed factors influencing recovery rates [7].…”

Identification of Obstacles to Implementing Sustainability in the Civil Construction Industry Using Bow-Tie Tool

“…Sustainability in civil construction has been the subject of studies in the most diverse areas [2,7,9,[24][25][26][27] ranging from selecting materials which have less impact on the environment, reducing the consumption of energy and the use of water, to reducing costs, etc., throughout the chain. It seeks to ensure that actions are taken to reduce environmental impacts, enhance economic process viability and provide a good quality of life for current and future generations, before, during and after construction phase.…”

“…According to previous studies, sustainability in civil construction presents benefits, including the conscious consumption of raw material, the reuse of waste and the minimization of waste. Thus, among the main advantages of sound sustainable practices in civil construction are cost reduction, through process optimization, and tax incentives; more comfort for owners, guaranteed by sustainable architectural care related to thermal, light and other environmental factors; and a better sales argument, since the concept of sustainability is well valued in the contemporary world [7,9].…”

“…Currently, due to the rapid growth in the population and urbanization in various parts of the world, the amount of construction waste material is increasing and one of the biggest challenges is managing and reducing this waste to achieve goals that promote sustainability in organizations [6][7][8][9]. However, using greener practices in the context of civil construction is still considered by many entrepreneurs as a burden (on normal practices) that leads to increased costs and reduced profits for companies in the sector [10].…”