Market for Reuse - Investigating reuse of acoustic ceilings from a market perspective

Abstract: Context: Today, 96% of Sweden’s materials come from virgin resources and only 3.4% of resources used in Sweden are retained in the value chain. From a total of 266 million tonnes fed into the economy each year, 46.9% consist of construction materials. Hence, there is a need to adapt circular strategies, such as reuse of construction products, to meet Sweden’s goal of becoming net zero by the year 2045. Purpose: To face the problem of extensive construction material waste, there is a need to identify drivers and barriers for reuse of construction products to establish a best practice for the case company in developing a market for reuse. Method: This research is designed as a mix of an explanatory study and a problem solving study, using case studies. The research approach used is abductive, using qualitative data from a literature review and interviews with stakeholders to gather information. Conclusions: The drivers and barriers for reuse could be identified as e.g. high demand, GBC:s and reuse being considered as a trend. By using the DIBN-framework, recommendations on how the case company could move forward with a general offer, short term focus and long term focus could be determined. The recommendations show key aspects to be considered when establishing a market for reuse, such as marketing towards real estate companies using GBC:s as a marketing tool and incentivising demolition companies to perform selective demolition projects. Key aspects such as quality and simplicity were also discovered as a high priority when purchasing reused acoustic ceilings, hence quality testing and a simple and efficient RL-system needs to be set up and optimised to enable long term success with the market for reuse innovation.