The construction industry accounts for nearly 40% of carbon emissions and a third of the world’s waste, with nearly half of all extracted raw materials funneled into the world’s built environment. That’s 100 billion tonnes of raw material taken from our earth every year.
The situation is particularly dire in the MENA region, with rapid expansion via linear models leading to high levels of construction waste. This is compounded by poor waste management.
With a global raw material shortage, price inflation, and the disastrous impacts of construction waste on the environment, the industry must change its harmful habits to build a greener world.
Construction waste and throwaway culture
It’s no secret that construction waste devastates our planet, causing soil and land contamination, environmental degradation, and wildlife displacement. Yet, the way we manage and dispose of it is highly irresponsible. Specifically in the GCC, over half of the total waste is produced by construction and demolition (CDW), with the conventional linear ‘take, make, dispose’ approach being the dominant model.
Back in 2016, in Qatar, for example, construction waste made up over 75% of all solid waste, with most of it diverted to desert landfills contributing to significant land contamination. Egypt is another country noted for its high CDW waste, as is the UAE, which ranks top with one of the world’s highest waste generations per capita, with 75% of solid waste generated from the construction industry. While awareness of the importance of circularity is slowly growing, the MENA is falling behind compared to other regions.
In the EU, for example, the Waste Directive targets extracting value from at least 70% of materials through methods that align with circular economy principles, including recycling and material recovery. Research from the European Environment Agency shows that EU countries are on track to achieve this, with many actually exceeding this by 2016.
Commenting on how the situation is evolving in the MENA, Amira Ayoub, World Green Building Council, highlighted that in the MENA, as construction booms, things need to change – and fast. She notes that the region is already home to over 350 million people, a figure that’s only growing due to rapid urbanisation, set to double from 2010 to 2050. “This means a large demand for buildings, complicated by the effects of climate change and resource deterioration,” said Ayoub.
Cutting construction waste by identifying value & building green
Research from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation revealed that applying circular economy principles to construction waste items such as cement, steel, and aluminium can be transformative for the planet’s health. It found that implementing this in the sector could eliminate nearly half of the emissions from production, a total of 9.3bn tonnes of CO2 in 2050.
Of course, it’s important to note that when we talk about circularity, we’re not just talking about down-cycling, which is the fate that a lot of “recycled” construction waste is destined for, resulting in the value of materials being downgraded for low-grade applications.
Speaking about this, Dr Hassam Chaudhry, Associate Professor, School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, commented that systemic innovation throughout the value chain is required for real change. “Resources recovered need to be reintegrated into the value chain. Companies need to collect and recover building components and materials in sufficient quantity and quality in an economic manner.”
“In addition, companies at the beginning of the value chain need to adapt the design of buildings to enable the recovery of construction material at the end-of-life and its reintegration into new construction projects.”
Chaudhry explained that this involves using modular construction techniques, such as pre-fabrication, which allow for “quick assembly and disassembly,” as well as the use of recyclable and biodegradable materials.
Echoing this, Ayoub said that while current waste management systems are not inherently designed to maximise value extraction with their wasteful linear approach, the circular economy is an “essential” part of the sustainability solution. Indeed, Ayoub outlines that with the current emissions targets adopted by countries in the region, the construction market is at a “turning point”: “It must align itself to national visions and climate change targets,” said Ayoub.
Bolstering green construction in the region
Governments in the region are beginning to encourage green building and promote the recovery of secondary materials through a variety of initiatives and regulatory changes. For example, in 2019, Saudi Arabia introduced Mostadam, its green building rating system. According to the Ministry of Housing, this system accounts for the local climate and regional differences in the country, which made LEED and BREEAM less applicable. The Kingdom also plans a 60% landfill diversion of C&D waste by 2030. That said, it’s clear that the industry is still adapting to these changes, with research showing that awareness of Mostadam and LEED is still low, plus certification is voluntary, although projects like Neom are pegged to promote the system more widely.
Chaudhry noted that elsewhere in the UAE, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCAE) released a resolution regarding the utilisation of recycled aggregates obtained from the waste generated by construction and demolition activities. “The resolution aims to encourage the use of such recycled aggregates in the development of infrastructure projects, including road construction,” he said. Adding. “The government of Abu Dhabi also made it compulsory to recycle construction materials and has set a requirement of using at least 10 per cent recycled aggregate on all its projects.”
Likewise, Chaudhry highlighted that as part of the UAE Cabinet’s recent approval of the National Building Regulations and Standards, the nation has also committed to reducing construction’s carbon footprint by 5 per cent through decarbonisation efforts.
“These regulations encompass a range of sustainability guidelines for various aspects of construction, including buildings, roads, and housing. Additionally, the regulations also include a National Guide for Building Sustainability that covers aspects of operations and maintenance,” he said.
Amr Nader, Co-Founder and CEO A³&Co, similarly outlined initiatives and regulations shaping green construction, including the Dubai Green Building Regulations and Specifications from the Dubai Municipality, which requires all new buildings in Dubai to meet a minimum level of sustainability.
“Other initiatives include the Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS), which aims to promote sustainable construction practices in Qatar, and the Abu Dhabi Estidama program, which encourages sustainable design and construction practices in Abu Dhabi,” he said. Nader added that efforts to incorporate circular principles in the construction supply chain are also being made by promoting the use of recycled materials and encouraging the development of sustainable manufacturing processes.
Ayoub, while highlighting the ongoing efforts made by countries in the MENA to go green, called for all governments and the building and construction sector to prioritise and embrace a circular transition that leverages social value for all.
“There are, essentially, three principles involved: designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use and regenerating natural systems,” she said.
Ultimately, with predictions that the MENA’s construction industry will see a growth rate of 5% in 2023, there is an imperative for the industry to switch gears before it’s too late. For this to happen, regulation must be robust and strictly enforced, and more work must be done within the industry to bolster awareness of best practices and improve training on sites.