How valuable are the materials from an old building if they are to be recycled? Do the materials have the same strength and characteristic as when they were new? Questions like these need answers, if the building industry is to be transformed – From a linear production to circular economy, from single usage to multiple reuse.

The building industry accounts for 38% of the produced waste in Denmark. Renovation and demolition alone account for the 27%. Selective demolition can make a difference to these numbers however, it requires building owners who consistently demand selective demolition and reuse when offering demolition jobs, as well as new marketplaces and collaborations.

Circular construction is a new definition of sustainable construction. Smaller CO2 prints are supplemented by minor imprints for all resources that are achieved by sharing, extending and reusing raw materials which are clean materials, as it does not make sense to recycle hazardous substances. Indoor climate and health are essential results.

When reuse and recycling are the norm in construction, buildings will be material banks with added value – even when they have to be demolished. This is not quite the case yet. But new products, experiments, initiatives and services are constantly emerging that test new forms of business and value creation within the circular economy.

Resources must be used again and again. Preferably by as many people as possible for the longest time possible. It is the focal point of circular economy, and take back-systems must ensure that it happens. The longer the life of the individual product, the more we save on globe resources. And when a product has finally consumed its value, the next best thing is that the product is being recycled for other purposes and thereby replacing primary resources.

Offering construction with circular principles such as recycling and circular designs, “design for separation” is difficult because it is relatively new. The agreements that regulate the construction, and which have been agreed between the construction parties, the client, consultant and contractor organizations, presuppose a fixed division of responsibilities. In addition, the Public Procurement Act, which regulates public developers, presupposes that clear requirements can be set for the construction, and that it is transparent how one lives up to and competes on these requirements.