A case study of plastic pipe recycling within Civil Engineering
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Design and construction project management (MPDCM), MSc
Publicerad
2020
Författare
BILLING, TOBIAS
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
The basis of this master’s thesis is to investigate how recycling of pipe scraps is currently being handled at NCC and also how the whole system for pipe scraps is currently set up. The aim of the study is to compare this system with the models of circular economy in order to investigate if they are compatible, and to analyse what further measures need to be taken so that the recycling of pipe scraps can be improved and further adhere to the principals of circular economy.
In order to acquire information about how NCC is handling pipe scraps today, several interviews have been conducted. Workshops at two different construction sites have been carried out. Attending the workshops were craftsmen, supervisors and subcontractors. To gain further information about how the whole pipe scrap system is set up, interviews have been conducted with pipe manufacturers, and a waste management company. On a separate note, the author of this paper is working at NCC which could increases the risk for blind spots and biased analysis.
The results of the workshops and interviews indicate that the current system for handling plastic pipes is not adhering to the principals of circular economy. The reason for this is: 1) Manufacturers cannot produce plastic pipes made from recycled pipe scraps in large enough scale due to material demands. 2) There are currently no profitable collection systems that can maintain the material value of plastic pipe scraps. 3) Rules and regulation fail to create incentives for recycling and circular business models. 4) It is not possible to deploy a green procurement strategy.
NCC and the actors who are involved in the recycling process for plastic pipes could further adopt the principal of circular economy by adhering to activities such as: research on sustainable business models for collecting pipe scraps, research in material technology for plastic pipes, endorsement of collaboration between companies involved in the recycling chain and implementation of new rules and regulations.