ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

The amount of waste generated worldwide is larger than the amount of goods consumed. The increasing scarcity of natural raw materials, combined with increasing costs and environmental constrains for landfilling is making recycling a growing business.

The building and construction industry is responsible for more than 40% of the total raw materials extraction. Construction and demolition waste around of 50% of the total urban waste. Therefore, the use of waste, both from construction as well from other industry, by the building and construction industry is both a need and an opportunity.

Despite the impressive advance on the research and development on technologies and concepts related to the use of waste as raw materials in the built environment, still many questions remains:

• What are the long-term effects and limits of the use of waste as building materials in a closed cycle?

• How can we increase the transfer of the developed recycling technologies to the society?

• What are the opportunities to improve recycling technology for the several important waste, such as the different fractions of construction and demolition waste?

• How can we access sustainability of recycling technologies?

• What are the opportunities for innovation on recycling?

• Is it possible to harmonize many recycling cycles in civil construction?