Strategies to Achieve Sustainable Concrete Waste Recycling

With limited spaces in big cities, many outdated buildings and houses are demolished to rebuild new residential units, causing a high amount of concrete waste. In Thailand, most concrete waste is illegally disposed of, causing several environmental impacts. Concrete waste recycling may be a solution to minimize these impacts. However, the feasibility of establishing concrete waste recycling plants must be considered carefully to plan for suitable strategies. This study utilizes the system dynamics (SD) modeling approach to examine strategies, related to economic, environmental, and social perspectives, for concrete waste recycling plant establishment. Benefits and costs of the project are considered, such as savings in virgin materials, savings in carbon tax, job creation, and labor, production, and health-related costs. The simulation results reveal that it takes 17 years for the project to achieve the minimum acceptable internal rate of return of 12%. Various strategies are performed to achieve sustainable implementation. The results reveal that labor cost, landfill charge, and business opportunity are crucial for successful concrete waste recycling. The government and construction industry may use study results to plan for concrete recycling implementation to achieve sustainable development.