BIM-based construction waste management and circular economy for resource recovery

Projections show that the consumption of raw materials worldwide is set to almost double by 2060, and the construction industry is a key responsible party for this trend. Additionally, high generation of construction and demolition waste is a common trend in the construction industry. Engineering challenges related to the aforementioned trends are identified in different phases of a construction project lifecycle. For instance, the difficulty in estimating construction waste (CW) generation in the early phases of a project and the lack of formal planning of CW reuse and recycling (R&R) during construction further challenges the waste generation issue. Moreover, early disposal of the existing built environment, with low recovery of resources are challenges associated to the end-of-life of projects that tend to aggravate the consumption of natural resources. Three research questions in this PhD dissertation sought to aid the aforementioned engineering challenges. Research Question 1 is tied to the problem of CW generation estimation during early phases of the project; as such, algorithms leveraging Building Information Modeling (BIM) were developed to automate and streamline CW generation estimations. BIM was used due to its capabilities of fast and reliable retrieval of project data. Research Question 2 built on Research Question 1 algorithms, but went one step further and discretized the amounts of CW generation into quantities for on-site reuse and off-site recycling. Four-dimensional (4D) BIM – through its simulation and visual capabilities – was used to enhance CW R&R planning during construction. Formalizing and enhancing CW R&R planning promotes resource recovery and minimizes waste disposal in landfills. Finally, Research Question 3 focused on the resource recovery issue at the end-of-life of a project, and the design of new building construction; this research sought to better understand the application of strategies that facilitate the circulation of resources in the United States built environment. Notably, contributions of this dissertation include streamlining the application of construction waste management practices (i.e., CW generation estimation and CW R&R planning) at the project level, and providing an overview of key construction industry stakeholders’ awareness and adoption of circular construction strategies in the United States.