D1.1 RECONMATIC. Current Practices and Policies

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is a major burden for industry, bringing considerable economic, social and environmental impacts that needs to be addressed. RECONMATIC proposes the development and implementation of automated solutions to enhance CDW recovery rates, promote higher value uses and minimise waste. The approach involves a holistic analysis of circular solutions throughout the life cycle of construction assets, integrating digital and robotic technologies.

The impact of these technologies implementation can only be assessed if any measurement method is established for circular economy that can help understand their performance from a holistic perspective and will support the assessment of future improvements. The aim of this report is to make an assessment about current practices and circular economy implementation in the construction industry for six countries in the EU and the UK, to be used as baselines for improvement with the later implementation of the RECONMATIC demonstrators. These baselines are shown as country profiles.

Based on circular economy assessment methods and recommendations by main national and international organisations, 50 indicators are selected and classified in 6 sections: governance, managerial, technological, economic, environmental, and social. They are designed qualitatively, presenting 5 levels of performance for ease of presentation and comparison. These indicators are calculated for 6 countries (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Spain and the UK) creating, this way, six country profiles. The calculation of these indicators is made with the information gathered from literature review and surveys to different stakeholders involved (clients, designers, manufacturers, contractors and waste managers).

In addition to challenges such as difficulties in data comparison between countries, the report identifies other areas of improvement, including the need for improvement of waste recovery statistics and data transparency, as well as standardised circular economy assessment methods. On the other hand, the procedure followed suggests some improvements, such as a ponderation system applied to the country profiles based on relevance/impact of each indicator.

The anticipated outcome for this report is to be a valuable framework for RECONMATIC project and to establish the references for improvement in the different demonstrators to develop. Additionally, it is expected to support the assessment tool in work package 6.