Environmental savings of reusing concrete and glass waste from multi-school rehabilitation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35208/ert.1598983Keywords:
Construction and demolition waste, carbon footprint, circular economy, scattered repetitive projectsAbstract
The construction industry is responsible for massive amounts of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) ending up in landfills and posing a substantial environmental burden. Managing construction waste, however, is not a simple task particularly for large rehabilitation projects that incorporate multiple scattered locations, such as multi-school or multi-bridge rehabilitations. To address the need for efficient CDW management, this research assesses the environmental savings resulting from reusing the construction waste generated during rehabilitation activities for scattered repetitive projects. A case study of a renovation project involving five schools in Toronto, Canada, serves as a practical example, with focus on concrete and glass wastes. The analysis of this project reveals the potential environmental savings achievable through efficient waste management strategies. For this project, savings of 1.9 trillion-joules of embodied energy, 190 m3 of water, and over 260 tonnes of greenhouse gases, can be realized from optimal recovery planning of those wastes. This research emphasizes the dual benefits of waste reuse through significant reduction in the environmental impacts and enhanced resource efficiency in scattered rehabilitation projects. The findings highlight the need for robust waste management plans that are integrated into the early stages of project planning to maximize environmental benefits. This study not only contributes to a more sustainable construction practice but also provides guidelines for policymakers aiming to implement circular economy concepts in rehabilitation projects, which represent a sizable portion of the construction business.
Downloads
References
[1]. F. Saeed, K. Mostafa, C. Rauch, and T. Hegazy, “Environmental impact and cost assessment for reusing waste during end-of-life activities on building projects,” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, vol. 149, no. 4, p. 04023099, 2023, doi: 10.1061/JCEMD4.COENG-12943.
[2]. V. Swarnakar and M. Khalfan, “Circular economy in construction and demolition waste management: An in-depth review and future perspectives in the construction sector,” Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, ahead-of-print, 2024, doi: 10.1108/SASBE-02-2024-0056.
[3]. A. Younes, E. Elbeltagi, A. Diab, G. Tarsi, F. Saeed, and C. Sangiorgi, “Incorporating coarse and fine recycled aggregates into concrete mixes: Mechanical characterization and environmental impact,” Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, vol. 26, pp. 654–668, 2024, doi: 10.1007/s10163-023-01834-1.
[4]. The Delphi Group, Circular Economy and the Built Environment Sector in Canada: Final Report, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://delphi.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Circularity-in-Canadas-Built-Environment-Final-Report-April-14-2021.pdf
[5]. Government of Ontario, Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario: Building the Circular Economy, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.ontario.ca/page/strategy-waste-free-ontario-building-circular-economy
[6]. A. Akhtar and A. K. Sarmah, “Construction and demolition waste generation and properties of recycled aggregate concrete: A global perspective,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 186, pp. 262–281, 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.085.
[7]. M. S. Aslam, B. Huang, and L. Cui, “Review of construction and demolition waste management in China and the USA,” Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 264, p. 110445, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110445.
[8]. O. Adekomaya and T. Majozi, “Mitigating environmental impact of waste glass materials: Review of the existing reclamation options and future outlook,” Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 28, pp. 10488–10502, 2021, doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-12263-0.
[9]. M. Hestin, S. de Veron, S. Burgos, Economic Study on Recycling of Building Glass in Europe, Deloitte Sustainability, 2016.
[10]. B. C. Guerra, S. Shahi, A. Molleai, N. Skaf, O. Weber, F. Leite, and C. Haas, “Circular economy applications in the construction industry: A global scan of trends and opportunities,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 324, p. 129125, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129125.
[11]. F. Saeed, K. Mostafa, M. Soliman, and T. Hegazy, “Agent-based simulation of multi-crew allocation to scattered repetitive projects,” in Proceedings of the Construction Research Congress 2024, 2024, pp. 1220–1228, doi: 10.1061/9780784485262.124.
[12]. J. L. Gálvez-Martos, D. Styles, H. Schoenberger, and B. Zeschmar-Lahl, “Construction and demolition waste best management practice in Europe,” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 136, pp. 166–178, 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.04.016.
[13]. G. C. Nobre and E. Tavares, “The quest for a circular economy final definition: A scientific perspective,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 314, p. 127973, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127973.
[14]. H. J. Ho, A. Iizuka, and E. Shibata, “Chemical recycling and use of various types of concrete waste: A review,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 284, p. 124785, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124785.
[15]. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures, 2018.
[16]. U. Rilwan, G.M. Aliyu, S.F. Olukotun, M.M. Idris, A.A. Mundi, S. Bello, I. Umar, A. El-Taher, K.A. Mahmoud, M.I. Sayyed, “Recycling and characterization of bone incorporated concrete for gamma-radiation shielding applications,” Nuclear Engineering and Technology, vol. 56, pp. 2828–2834, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.net.2024.02.045.
[17]. U. Rilwan, M.A. Abdulazeez, I. Maina, O.W. Olasoji, Atef El-Taher, I.S. Adeshina, M.I. Sayyed “Sustainable gamma radiation shielding: Coconut shell ash modified concrete for radiation protection applications,” Journal of Radiation and Nuclear Applications, vol. 10, pp. 33–44, 2025, doi: 10.18576/JRNA/100106.
[18]. U. Rilwan, S.A. Edeh, M.M. Idris, I.I. Fatima, S.F. Olukotun, G.Z. Arinseh, P.Z. Bonat, A. El-Taher, K.A. Mahmoud, Taha. A. Hanafy, M.I. Sayyed, “Influence of waste glass on the gamma-ray shielding performance of concrete,” Annals of Nuclear Energy, vol. 210, p. 110876, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.anucene.2024.110876.
[19]. B. I. Oluleye, D.W.M. Chan, A.B. Saka, T. O. Olawumi, “Circular economy research on building construction and demolition waste: A review of current trends and future research directions,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 357, p. 131927, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131927.
[20]. B. Sanchez, M. Esnaashary Esfahani, and C. Haas, “A methodology to analyze the net environmental impacts and building cost performance of an adaptive reuse project,” Environmental Systems and Decisions, vol. 39, pp. 419–438, 2019, doi: 10.1007/s10669-019-09734-2.
[21]. BS EN 15978:2011, Sustainability of construction works—Assessment of environmental performance of buildings—Calculation method, British Standards Institution, 2011.
[22]. R. Andersson, K. Fridh, H. Stripple, and M. Häglund, “Calculating CO₂ uptake for existing concrete structures during and after service life,” Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 47, pp. 11625–11633, 2017, doi: 10.1021/es401775w.
[23]. Toronto District School Board, Capital Projects, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.tdsb.on.ca/About-Us/Facility-Services/Capital-Projects
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Environmental Research and Technology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles in Environmental Research and Technology (ERT) are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
This license allows others to copy, distribute, and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes only, provided that proper credit is given to the original authors and to the journal.
