The environmental impacts of the construction sector are substantial, particularly in terms of resource consumption and waste generation. Currently, recycling of construction materials is not particularly common.
"Many of these materials can be reused to mitigate the sector’s environmental footprint. This is especially relevant for wood, as a significant portion is incinerated for energy in Norway, despite the country’s rich tradition of timber architecture," says Shumaila Khatri.
Khatri completed her doctorate in the PhD programme in Applied Ecology and Biotechnology.
This thesis, conducted as part of the CircWOOD project funded by the Research Council of Norway under the Green Platform initiative, examines the policy landscape and market perspectives that can facilitate material reuse.
Through a policy analysis of more than 30 documents, the study investigates policy instruments that support wood circularity in construction and provides recommendations for national and local policymakers to enhance reuse practices.
Consumer perceptions of reclaimed wood materials were analysed based on responses from over 900 house and cabin owners, as well as more than 100 municipal buyers.
"The findings indicate market readiness and a generally positive attitude toward recycled wood. These insights can assist construction product manufacturers and marketers in promoting recycled products, particularly given the encouraging trends on the demand side," argues the PhD candidate.
Khatri's thesis is titled "Policy landscape and consumer perceptions of reclaimed construction material with a focus on wood".
The main findings of the doctoral thesis:
- The document analysis indicated that wood circularity is not explicitly defined as a direct policy objective by either national or European authorities. Nevertheless, larger policy goals of climate targets, waste management, and circular economy create opportunities for its indirect support.
- The policy analysis identified 70 policy instruments that could support wood circularity in construction; however, only six were found to be active in legislation. The instrument mix spanned six types of economic, regulatory, public investment, information, capacity-building, and voluntary, across five supply chain stages.
- House owners and cabin-owners showed high willingness to adopt recycled wood in construction and renovation of their homes. This willingness can be attributed to relative advantages of recycled wood over fresh wood, such as its traditional charm, and to functional compatibility of recycled wood with existing construction materials. However, the consumers’ green values and risk perceptions had limited effects.
- Public buyers had low prior experience with recycled construction materials but high expectation to use it in the next 5 years, which was influenced by municipality size and positive previous experience.
- Economic incentives and infrastructure improvements are most influential in motivating public buyers to include recycled construction materials as part of their regular tender process.