It is possible to create little to no rubbish from building construction in regional towns, but the responsibility starts at the top with those commissioning a project needing to consider waste reduction from the earliest planning stages, according to new research by Charles Darwin University (CDU).
The study, conducted by CDU academics, examined the barriers to adopting a circular economy in construction projects in Alice Springs, using the renovation of CDU’s Alice Springs campus as a case study.
A circular economy is a system designed to minimise waste and maximise resource efficiency by reusing, repairing, and recycling products rather than sending them to landfill.
Globally, building construction accounts for approximately 30 per cent of total waste.
Led by Senior Research Fellow Dr Deepika Mathur from CDU’s Northern Institute, the research involved implementing circular economy principles during project commissioning, interviewing key stakeholders such as project managers, architects, and contractors, and tracking waste management on site.
The findings highlighted that the main barrier to implementing a circular economy is the willingness of clients who commission construction projects.
“In this research project, the clients (CDU) showed leadership by adopting a circular economy approach and thereby asking architects to reuse certain materials and by including a weightage for waste management in their tender documents,” Dr Mathur said.
She emphasised: “Since the client appoints the architect, project manager, builder and any other consultant, their acceptance of a circular economy practice in building construction projects is critical to the adoption of circularity aspects.”
The project team managed to reuse partitions, ceiling tile frames, timber paneling, and other materials, significantly diverting reusable and recyclable materials from landfill.
“The inclusion of waste management as a sustainability criterion, made the actors more aware of the ways they could divert building materials from landfill,” Dr Mathur added.
She described how collaboration played a pivotal role in repurposing materials, stating: “The architect and the glaziers worked together to design new partitions in the Info Shop, such that the old glass and the doors could be reused.
“Ceiling tile frames and timber panelling were reused on site by the builders.
“Waste was sorted on site and materials were sent for reuse and recycling to the local Tip shop or the metal recyclers, rerouting them to more sustainable solutions.”
However, not all materials could be reused, with safety regulations limiting reuse to those materials meeting new Australian standards.
Dr Mathur also identified other significant barriers, including the lack of knowledge among small to medium-sized enterprises on how to reduce and manage waste, and the high cost of transporting waste from regional towns, which often involves sending metal, paper, plastics, and cardboard interstate for reprocessing.
“The small sizes of businesses, such as architects, builders and sub-contractors, faced the barrier of lack of knowledge about how to reduce and manage waste as well as having limited options for recycling locally,” she said.
To address this, she suggested they can be up-skilled through their peak body organisations, for example the Institute of Architects or Master Builders Association, via their professional development programs.
To further enhance circular economy adoption in regional construction, Dr Mathur recommends embedding circular criteria into procurement policies to balance sustainability with budgets.
“Financial incentives, regional environmental ratings, transport subsidies, and upskilling building industry stakeholders are key to enabling widespread industry participation in these areas.”
The study, also conducted alongside CDU’s Dean of Business and Accounting, Professor Maneka Jayasinghe, and Professor Kerstin Zander from CDU’s Northern Institute, was published in the journal Urban Research & Practice.
This research demonstrates that with strong leadership and strategic planning from project commissioners, building construction in regional towns can achieve minimal waste, paving the way for more sustainable regional development.
