Use of recycled products in UK construction industry: An empirical investigation into critical impediments and strategies for improvement

Construction industry consumes about half of all material resources taken from nature, and generates a large portion of waste to landfill. A way of tackling negative environmental impacts impending from continuous material extraction and waste generation is the use of recycled materials for construction projects. However, the use of recycled materials is yet to become a commonplace in construction industry. This study evaluates the factors hampering the use of recycled products in UK construction industry as well as strategies that could be adopted to enhance its use in the industry. In order to identify the impediments and critical strategies, a two-fold methodical approach was used. An unstructured interview preceded a quantitative questionnaire survey which was used to elicit broader industry practitioners' opinion. The study shows that designers rarely specify recycled products. This is due to lack of adequate information about quality and market availability of the products, negative perception from clients, and unexpectedly high cost of the products, despite its perceived low quality. The study suggests that a number of strategies could be adopted to promote the use of the products. These include allocation of points to the use of recycled products in sustainable design appraisal tools, governments legislative measures, improved collaboration between designers, contractors and materials suppliers, contractors involvement at earlier stage of design, improved education of the professionals about the products, and the use of tax break to influence the cost of the products. The findings of this study would therefore help policy makers, manufacturers and construction professionals to identify the factors hampering the use of recycled products for construction projects as well as the strategies that could be adopted in order to create market for the products. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.