Facilitating a recurring resource utilization model within construction and infrastructure sectors
The staggering 600 million tons of construction waste produced in the US in 2018, along with 820 million tons in the EU and an astronomical 2 billion tons annually in China, highlights an urgent need for a shift towards circularity – a sustainable model aimed at minimizing waste and maximizing material efficiency through recovery and reuse – in the built environment.
Our current linear economy, with its "take-make-dispose" construction model, contributes significantly to this resource loss. By contrast, the "make-use-reuse" approach of a circular economy presents a valuable opportunity to reduce environmental impact.
Recognizing this, a team of MIT researchers, led by PhD student Juliana Berglund-Brown, has embarked on a mission to understand the motivators that could propel widespread circular transition within the built environment. In a new open-access study, they aim to unravel the perceptions of stakeholders, quantifying their willingness to pay for a circular economy.
These stakeholders consist of material suppliers, design and construction teams, and real estate developers, each surveyed by the research team that also includes Akrisht Pandey, Fabio Duarte, Raquel Ganitsky, Randolph Kirchain, and Siqi Zheng. Despite growing awareness, circular practices have yet to be implemented at scale due to factors affecting the interplay of construction needs, government regulations, and the economic interests of real estate developers.
The study reveals that perceived barriers to adoption differ based on industry role, with the primary concern for design and construction teams being lack of client interest and standardized structural assessment methods. Challenges for material suppliers include logistics complexity and supply uncertainty, while real estate developers are primarily concerned with higher costs and structural assessment. Surprisingly, respondents expressed a readiness to absorb higher costs, with developers prepared to pay an average of 9.6 percent more for a minimum 52.9 percent reduction in embodied carbon.
The findings stress the need for dialogue between design teams and developers, as well as further exploration of practical solutions to challenges. Berglund-Brown emphasizes the potential for value creation through circularity, stating, "If people are motivated by cost, let's provide a cost incentive, or establish strategies that have one."
The study also identifies other hurdles to scale adoption, such as risk associated with material reuse and disrupting conventional design practices. To alleviate risk, researchers can develop standards for reuse and design specifically for disassembly, while maintaining material efficiency and versatility.
Innovations like MIT's Pixelframe, a modular concrete reuse system developed by Caitlin Mueller's research team, demonstrate the technical and logistical feasibility of circularity at scale. By designing for disassembly, configuration, versatility, and upfront carbon and cost efficiency, Pixelframe can serve as a viable alternative to traditional construction methods.
Policymakers can play a crucial role in fostering change by providing incentives for adoption through financial incentives, market demand, and regulatory compliance. The study highlights the potential of tax exemptions, green public procurement, and specific regulations to motivate enterprises to adopt circular practices.
Additional support for circular innovation has emerged with the Biden administration's landmark climate legislation and grants for advancing steel reuse, awarded to Berglund-Brown and John Ochsendorf.
Berglund-Brown invites practitioners interested in circular construction to engage in the ongoing work and collaborative efforts aimed at shaping a more sustainable future. The MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium supports this research.
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- The vast amount of construction waste emphasizes the need for circularity in the built environment, aiming to minimize waste and maximize material efficiency.
- The linear economy's "take-make-dispose" construction model significantly contributes to resource loss and calls for a shift towards a sustainable "make-use-reuse" approach.
- A team of MIT researchers, including Juliana Berglund-Brown, is investigating the motivators driving circular transition within the built environment, quantifying stakeholders' willingness to pay for a circular economy.
- Stakeholders surveyed in the study consist of material suppliers, design and construction teams, and real estate developers.
- The study highlights barriers to scale adoption, such as the lack of client interest, standardized structural assessment methods, logistics complexity, and supply uncertainty for different industry roles.
- Despite these challenges, respondents expressed a readiness to absorb higher costs for significant carbon reductions in construction projects.
- The findings underscore the importance of dialogue between design teams and developers and the search for practical solutions to challenges in adopting circular practices.
- Innovations like MIT's Pixelframe, a modular concrete reuse system, prove the feasibility of circularity at scale when designed for disassembly, configuration, versatility, and upfront carbon and cost efficiency.
- Policymakers can accelerate the transition by offering financial incentives, promoting market demand, and enforcing regulatory compliance for circular practices.
- Tax exemptions, green public procurement, and specific regulations can motivate enterprises to adopt circular practices, as highlighted by the study.
- Additional support for circular innovation comes from the Biden administration's landmark climate legislation and grants for advancing steel reuse, awarded to Berglund-Brown and John Ochsendorf.
- Practitioners interested in circular construction are invited to join ongoing research and collaborative efforts aimed at shaping a more sustainable future, supported by the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium. Other related research on resource efficiency, sustainable consumption, energy-efficient building materials, and material science for building material reuse was also mentioned in the study.
