Reccomendations and basis for desicion for sustainable mineral resource management; focus civil engineering (ASTRA2005/004)
Overview
Background & policy context:
Demolition of built structures produces vast and increasing amounts of mineral waste materials. In Switzerland, the majority of these materials is downcycled or landfilled. The consequences of different ends of life options on ecological, economic and social sustainability are yet unknown.
This project aims at developing recommendations for optimized management of waste construction materials. These recommendations should result in minimal environmental burdens and an optimal contribution to a sustainable development.
Objectives:
The main objective of the project is a development of a tool for assessing strategies for use of recycled mineral building materials and for developing recommendations on how to match supply and demand of mineral waste materials from civil engineering and building constructions, considering economic, ecologic and social aspects in order to optimise the overall impacts on sustainable development.
Methodology:
In the project, first, the qualities and quantities of future waste materials (supply) will be determined by dynamic material flux analysis (MFA).
For the same period of time, the demand of mineral material and their respective quality for civil engineering and building construction will be forecast. Using an agent analysis we will investigate the prerequisites for owners, planners and builders to use recycled mineral material in new constructions.
The project results, together with the results of supporting Empa projects, will be used to determine the potential demand for materials from recycled mineral demolition waste. Various scenarios will be developed and the environmentally sound alternatives investigated in a hybride material flux / Life Cycle Analysis (MFA/LCA).
Beside that, economic aspects will be investigated and quantified using the concept of industry analysis. Social aspects will be analysed based on expert interviews with the main stakeholders as well as consensus building workshops.
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