Currently, most Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste is mixed and used for backfilling or sent to landfill. Some of it is incinerated or downcycled into products of much lower value. This has become a pressing issue in many urban areas due to the sheer volume of C&D waste, which often is the biggest proportion of the waste stream. However, the built environment in cities is already a “mine” from which to recover valuable materials from the existing building stocks.

Improving separation of different materials at demolition sites and establishing or improving facilities for reuse and recovery of C&D waste allows for value to be retained within the local economy, reducing the burden of urban C&D waste management and helping cities achieve a more resource-efficient urbanisation. By recovering building components from buildings that are to be demolished, fewer new components need to be produced, and fewer raw materials need to be extracted. This reduces environmental impacts and emissions at each step of the value chain, from extraction to transportation and manufacturing.

Cities can influence the type of waste management infrastructures developed within the city’s borders, as well as how different facilities throughout the city connect to one another. They can invest and support in developing infrastructure, both physical and digital, that can facilitate the closing of material and energy loops throughout the urban built environment. This can take the form of C&D recycling facilities, facilities for reconditioning of deconstructed building elements, and material and component marketplaces to collect and recover disassembled pre-used building components and material. Finally, they can invest and facilitate research to map the building stock aiding in identification of recovery opportunities and adequate demolition practices.