Urban mining in buildings for a circular economy: Planning, process and feasibility prospects

Arora, Mohit; Raspall, Félix; Fearnley, Lyle; Silva, Arlindo

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105754

Cited by 52 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Within the construction industry, this is known as 'urban mining' where 'prospecting' of buildings is conducted prior to renovation or demolition to identify usable materials and products that can be recovered and re-used rather than treated as waste materials for disposal. The concept of urban mining is not new, but increasing material demand and reduced building lifetimes, coupled with the scale of the climate crisis, has resulted in urban mining being projected as a crucial measure for improving resource efficiency (Arora et al 2021;Blok 2021). It is a circular economy strategy on a macro level, as it is capable of returning construction and demolition wastes as raw materials in the industrial processes (Bender & Bilotta 2019).…”

Section: 'Mining' the Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

The 5R Model: facilitating decision-making on repurposing of industrial and ancillary infrastructure

Finucane¹,

King²,

Tarnowy³

2022

Mine Closure 2022: 15th Conference on Mine Closure

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Closure of mining landscapes is widely discussed within, and investigated by, the mining industry with increasingly innovative alternative uses found for open pits, underground workings, waste rock landforms, tailings storage facilities and water dams. When it comes to industrial and ancillary infrastructure though, many mining companies elect only to decommission and dispose of this infrastructure onsite. However, there is a growing need for efficient, effective and sustainable ways to find alternative purposes for these features, particularly in the face of increasing resource scarcity.The concept of 'adaptive re-use' is not new: it is common in the construction industry where re-use of materials and equipment is considered to be a win-win strategy, in modern communities, where recycling and even upcycling has become second nature, and in urban renewal, where there is a focus on repurposing of heritage buildings and other structures. Further, there is growing support for the 'circular economy' ethos, which favours careful management of resources and intelligent re-use of products and reconsidering the term 'market' more broadly.Many mining companies are now adopting a circular approach in selected areas of their business and while this is mainly focused on active operations, it is considered that there is an opportunity to extend this thinking to mine closure. However, identifying what materials can be 'mined' for re-use or repurposing can be challenging, partly due to obsolescence but also because of tenure restrictions, liability issues, transport costs, legal constraints and other factors. On this basis, the '5R Model' has been developed to facilitate decisionmaking in relation to the alternative uses for industrial and ancillary infrastructure associated with mining and mineral processing operations. This paper outlines the basis of the 5R Model and the way in which this classification system can be used to guide investigations and decision-making for repurposing of industrial and ancillary infrastructure, including blue-sky options. Drawing on case studies on alternative closure scenarios for mining and mineral processing infrastructure and lessons learned from 'urban mining', this paper also discusses potential pathways to achieve these uses and facilitate custodial transfer of physical assets, and ways in which this model can also assist companies meet their waste minimisation, carbon reduction and other targets during closure of their sites.

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Section: 'Mining' the Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

The 5R Model: facilitating decision-making on repurposing of industrial and ancillary infrastructure

Finucane¹,

King²,

Tarnowy³

2022

Mine Closure 2022: 15th Conference on Mine Closure

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“…UM is an essential part of a circular economy [37,[50][51][52][53]. However, few studies have investigated its impacts on ISW and MSW recycling and pollution reduction.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, few studies have investigated its impacts on ISW and MSW recycling and pollution reduction. Waste recycling, recovery, and reuse recover resources and redirect waste into production cycles, which provide vital environmental services to the local communities [50,54,55]. Previous studies on waste management efficiency (such as the recycling rate) have focused on socio-economic factors (e.g., GDP per capita and economic size), demographic characteristics (e.g., population density), technology levels, household-related socioeconomic factors (e.g., household participation rates, education, financial status, etc.)…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Circular Economy Legislation Promote Pollution Reduction? Evidence from Urban Mining Pilot Cities in China

Shen

Liu

2022

Sustainability

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Major economies, such as the United States, European Union (EU), Japan, and China have enacted Circular Economy Promotion Laws (CEPLs) to promote the development of the recycling industry. The Urban Mining Pilot Policy (UMPP) is an essential provision of the CEPL in China, which promotes a circular economy and environmentally friendly industries and society. In China, the Urban Mining Pilot City (UMPC) program facilitates the addressing of the negative environmental impacts of industrial and urban waste, and conservation of scarce primary resources, which are necessary for sustainable industrialization and urban sustainability in developing countries. In the present study, a time-varying difference-in-difference analysis of city-level panel data was conducted to investigate the impact of the UMPC program on pollution reduction in China. The results indicated that the UMPC program has improved municipal waste management efficiency and environmental quality significantly, with robust results across various models and datasets. Additionally, the mediation test showed the positive impacts of the UMPC program are mainly associated with the economy-of-scale effects. Finally, the UMPP had geographical and social-economic heterogeneous effects. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to quantify the impact of the UMPC program on recyclable solid waste management and pollution reduction in urban China, with potential contributions to resource and environmental economics.

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“…Other's efforts include the building and construction sector, highlighting evidence of the development and use of alternative construction materials and the advancement of circular business models and smart cities and their relations with the CE [66]. Other reports showed urban mining in buildings in Singapore, demonstrating the feasibility of reuse-driven urban mining and subsequent significant prospects for embodied carbon savings [67], evaluated advances in the technological control of greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater [68], and a description of membrane technology for the recovery of water, nutrients from a secondary effluent [69], and examined macrophytes as wastewater treatment agents [70].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors for Implementation of Circular Economy in Firms in COVID-19 Pandemic Times: The Case of Peru

et al. 2021

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The circular economy can contribute to the eco-efficient use of resources. Firms can obtain relevant benefits if they implement a circular economy. In Peru, the circular economy would create benefits, but it is not fully clear what factors explain the acceptance of firms of implementing a circular economy. Following the theory of planned behavior, the current research assesses the influence of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral norms, intentions, and pressures on behaviors towards the circular economy. A total of 71 medium-size firms based in Peru participated in an online survey. Six questions were focused on general information, and forty-seven questions evaluated the circular economy behavior of firms. A partial least square structural equation modeling technical analysis was used. It was found that attitudes (0.144), subjective norms (0.133), and perceived behavioral control (0.578) had a positive influence on intentions; also, perceived behavioral control (0.461) had a positive influence on behaviors towards the circular economy. Finally, pressures had a positive influence (0.162) on behaviors towards the circular economy. The model explained 64.3% of the behaviors towards the circular economy. The outcomes of the bootstrapping test were used to evaluate if the path coefficients are significant. This study showed that attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral norms, intentions, and pressures explained circular economy behaviors. This information can help firms develop strategies to move forward a circular economy and provide governments information about the current situation of circular economy implementation to generate new norms and strategies for more implementation of circular economy measures in enterprises. The novelty is based on using the PLS-SEM technique.

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Urban mining in buildings for a circular economy: Planning, process and feasibility prospects

Cited by 52 publications

References 51 publications

The 5R Model: facilitating decision-making on repurposing of industrial and ancillary infrastructure

The 5R Model: facilitating decision-making on repurposing of industrial and ancillary infrastructure

Can Circular Economy Legislation Promote Pollution Reduction? Evidence from Urban Mining Pilot Cities in China

Factors for Implementation of Circular Economy in Firms in COVID-19 Pandemic Times: The Case of Peru

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