A reuse inventory started the work with climate neutral and circular construction
About this good practice
What
When a school in Lund was about to be demolished, a few employees decided to do the municipality’s first reuse inventory. There hade been a lot of discussions in the local community and media about the need to demolish the old school in order to make room for a new school. The aim of doing a reuse inventory was to start building knowledge within the organization in the area of circularity in the building sector and to add some positive aspects to this criticized project. The aim was also to learn more about the inventory process itself: how can it be done, what can you do with the reusable materials you find, how can the property owner cooperate with the contractor etc.
How
Although the time frame was tight (two months from start to demolition) the project leader and two environmental strategists decided two try out a reuse inventory. To spread the knowledge, a team of approx. 20 persons conducted the inventory together. Reusable material and items were identified and listed (first in excel sheets and later on in an online tool) and after that an extensive process of finding an offset for each material/item begun. Some material were taken over by the contractor for reuse within the project, some were transferred and sometimes stored for other municipal buildings, some were sold to auction firms and some were sold through a digital flee market to citizens.
Who
Project managers, environmental strategists, technicians, real estate managers, contractor, researcher.
Expert opinion
Resources needed
From this first inventory and more that followed, it is reasonable to conclude that a city the size and growth rate of Lund would need a full-time coordinator working with the reuse of building material within the city’s own building projects, in order to manage this work completely satisfactory.
Evidence of success
The lessons learned from the first inventory has both led to changes in internal processes as well as changes in procurements/contracts to promote reuse of material. The first inventory saved approx. 30 000-40 000 euro. 1500-1700 tonnes of brick were reused/recycled as filling material. The weight of other materials was not possible to estimate, nor the CO2-savings. Lund is now seen as a forerunner in the region, with high ambitions when it comes to climate neutral and circular building.
Potential for learning or transfer
The city of Lund has a goal that says that the construction of municipal buildings shall be climate neutral in 2030. To reach this goal, reuse of material in a larger scale is an important piece of the puzzle. Reuse of building material comes with many challenges, both internally (with for example mindset and resources) and externally (with for example the cooperation with contractors). For the city of Lund, this first inventory was the start of the city’s work with reusing material in a more structured way. It was a form of “learning by doing”, that helped identifying areas that needed to be developed in order to start scaling up and increase the possibilities of reaching the goal. The city has still a long way to go, but many lessons have been learned along the way so far. Since most of the contractors are regional or national, Lund's higher demands in circularity and climate neutrality helps building knowledge within the region.
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.