From waste to resource management? Construction and demolition waste management through the lens of institutional work

Abstract

The European Union has issued action plans to reduce the production of construction waste and increase the reuse and recycling of materials in the hope of triggering a rapid transition towards a Circular Economy (CE). The management of construction and demolition waste, however, struggles to apply these measures. Our purpose, therefore, is to analyse how different actors involved in the management of waste could contribute to transform existing practices so that they respond to the shifting demands of legislation and support CE. To understand how this transformation work is performed, we build on the concept of institutional work, which enables us to describe how actors, rather than accepting institutions as permanent and immovable, contribute to their development by creating, maintaining or disrupting the existing institution. Drawing on qualitative research methods, we collected empirical data through 31 semi-structured interviews, observations of meetings and site visits. Our results show that whereas the production of waste is somewhat reduced, and the sorting of fractions improved, the institutional work performed is not sufficient to translate sustainability into new economic values. Although the work performed legitimizes CE principles and enables new initiatives, it mostly fails to change normative associations and to define new rules of action that support CE.