Construction in a circular economy will require a shared vision of reduced waste.
Waste is a major problem for the construction industry worldwide. In the UK, the industry produces three times more waste than households – and only half is recycled. This is unsustainable even in the medium term. Lessons should be learned from the manufacturing sector because a considerable structural change in the entire built environment industry is urgently needed.
So said Arup chairman Gregory Hodkinson, addressing a conference on the Circular Economy held at London’s Building Centre on 21 September. More than 200 delegates heard presentations from the likes of Hodkinson and Bam Construct UK sustainability director Nitesh Magdani on how construction can adopt the basic principles of the circular economy and move away from the current waste-generating traditional linear economy.
