Enhancing the Use of Products with Recycled Contents in the Australian Construction Industry

In Australia, construction and demolition (C&D) activities have substantially grown over recent decades, leading to the generation of a large amount of waste. The C&D waste stream therefore accounts for 38 per cent of the total waste generated, reaching 29 megatonnes (Mt) annually.1 The average annual growth of C&D waste generation is currently at 2.4 per cent, and about 6.4 Mt of this waste stream is landfilled. As of 2021, the C&D waste recovery rate reached 78 per cent, meaning that a large quantity of products with recycled content (PwRC) is being produced annually. However, the latest reports from private and public sectors highlight the inadequate uptake of these valuable resources. Consequently, it is essential to comprehend how the utilisation of these materials is perceived by Australian industry stakeholders. Therefore, this research aimed to contribute to the increased use of PwRC in the Australian construction industry. To achieve this aim, four objectives were set out to map a plan for optimised utilisation of PwRC in construction. First, the perceptions of four key stakeholder groups (that is, client, builder, designer and supplier) regarding the application of PwRC in four construction projects (one commercial, two transport infrastructure and one residential) that were recently completed in Australia were analysed. The case study analyses revealed the major barriers, motivations and strategies towards the optimised use of PwRC in typical construction projects in Australia (Objective 1). Furthermore, interviews with the 16 individuals from Australian stakeholder groups showed their opinions about the application of recycled product certifications (RPC). The interviews were completed by a separate case study of an existing organisation that issues RPC to better understand their operations and working mechanisms (Objective 2). Through circular economy (CE) practices embedded with ‘design for zero waste’ and ‘design for reuse/ recycling’ principles, much of the C&D waste generation could have been avoided or at least recirculated within the construction sector supply chain. Therefore, a comprehensive review of the existing published works was conducted to develop guidelines for implementing CE practices in the construction and infrastructure industry (Objective 3). To ensure increased uptake, behavioural and attitudinal changes are important for the acceptance of PwRC, so this study focused on developing two training packages for Main Roads Western Australia (WA) and the WA Department of Communities (Objective 4). The content of the training packages was informed by previous and current SBEnrc C&D waste projects (P1.65, P1.75, P1.85). These packages were co-developed with the core industry partners and provided the knowledge required to manage C&D waste operations and activities.<p></p>