Willingness to pay for construction and demolition waste from buildings in Chile.

Abstract

In order to encourage increased rates in respect of sorting, recycling and the diversion of construction and demolition waste (C&DW), the world's more advanced economies have developed innovative new technologies and studies to improve the creation of sustainable societies. To achieve this, it is important to dedicate greater efforts to the elaboration of tariff schemes and studies to determine society's disposition to improve the management of C&DW. This study analyzes willingness of construction companies in Chile to pay (WTP) to improve the C&DW management, through the contingent valuation method (CVM). This aims to provide analytical background and market information to circular business models and, in turn, provide information which can be used to define public policies governing the subject, as a contribution to future regulatory developments. The Chilean construction industry was surveyed and a total of 57 valid questionnaires were collected. The results show that the average WTP for inert C&DW, non-inert C&DW, mixed C&DW with a greater quantity of inert waste and mixed C&DW with a greater quantity of non-inert waste was 8.77 (US $/ton), 7.73 (US $/ton), 7.98 (US $/ton) and 8.22 (US $/ton), respectively. Additionally, the cost of waste removal and disposal had an average value of 9.68 (US $/ton). Through multiple regression analysis, it was discovered that the variables related to knowledge about circular economy, state actions, management of C&DW and productivity have a significant effect on WTP. These results provide new evidence for the development of appropriate public policies to address the problem of C&DW and improve management in Chile.