What is needed to increase the recycling rates?
As it can be seen in the graphic below there still some countries which maintain landfill rates too high. In order to achieve a circular economy in construction, it is necessary to reverse this situation, for which it must bet, among others, to increase recycling rates, thus returning products to the cycle.
There are various barriers to recycling, being the most important ones:
- Price competition with virgin alternatives: Stakeholders tend to favour cheaper and credible solutions, and virgin (a) minerals are in many cases cheaper than secondary materials due to the latter’s processing costs.
- Confidence in the quality and structural properties of secondary materials (traceability): Stakeholders tend to choose virgin materials that are quality assured through warranties and standards.
- Hazardous substances content: Contaminated materials are not suitable for recycling, and removal of the hazardous content is costly.
However, some actions can be carried out to remove these barriers:
- The creation of a competitive secondary materials market, which would create demand for both quantity and quality of waste material, thus directly increasing recycling.
- Engaging in the development of standards for secondary raw materials would increase the trust in their properties and quality.
- Developing technology for efficient removal of hazardous substances and eliminating the use of hazardous materials in new construction.
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