De-construction as part of life cycle management

Abstract

Abstract

Finland has committed to utilizing 70% of construction and demolition waste (CDW) by 2020. However, the current re-utilization rate is still below 60%. Altogether 85% of the total CDW is generated by repair projects and demolished buildings, while the remaining 15% is coming from new construction. Hence, the main emphasis should be on the recycling of demolished or repaired buildings and constructs. Construction in urban areas start often with the demolition of old buildings and structures. At the same time, there is a need to construct new or upgrade old infrastructure such as streets, footpaths and bicycle lanes, parking areas, and noise barriers. The demolition materials should be utilized in situ, near the demolition site. This would result in apparent economic savings in terms of heavy transportation and thereby and lower emissions. Also, the strain on existing road structures and congestion on the city’s street network would be relieved. Finally, the need for virgin raw materials would be less. This paper presents a novel operating model that combines demolition operations and construction operations by optimizing material quantities, quality, work scheduling, and site operations. Various demolishing aggregates, side flows and other fraction flows will be tested in experimental structures with the aim of finding out whether they meet the regulatory requirements and standards for infrastructure construction.