Cradle to Cradle strategies for the management of waste in the building sector: strengths and weaknesses of the Italian reality

P. Altamura 1 1DATA - Department of Industrial Design, Architecture Technology, Territory and Environment, Faculty of Architecture, “Sapienza” University, Rome, Italy

Abstract The efficient use of resources requires the overall control of the flow of materials through each intervention and the closing of production cycles from Cradle to Cradle : reuse and recycling of CRD waste can reduce the environmental footprint of buildings. Italian reality is quite controversial: considerable amounts of waste end up in landfills, while industry often produces materials by reusing/recycling pre/post-consumer waste, as in the ceramic district in Emilia, and reclaimed components and materials are used in renovations, as in the Alberghi Diffusi . Such practices must be extended by developing new regulations and design tools.

Keywords : Cradle to Cradle, CRD waste, Reuse, Recycling, Supply Chain

other virtuous countries, as Austria and Germany, while in 1 THE MANAGEMENT OF BUILDING MATERIALS Italy is rather low. Furthermore, each country tends to AND WASTE FLOWS IN EUROPE: concentrate on recycling specific fractions of CRD waste ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES produced, depending on the range of techniques The efficient use of resources is a fundamental tenet of available locally. This generates a very differentiated and sustainable building construction, which calls for the fragmentary context in which the collection and overall control of the flow of materials (incoming and comparison of data can be very difficult (Figure 1). outgoing) through each intervention. To turn this tenet into diffuse practice, it is essential to dig deep into the critical aspects of the building sector, in order to develop effective design strategies and innovative methodologies. The building sector has a significant impact on energy and environmental resources (water, soil, vegetation) and it considerably affects mineral wealth. Through the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe in 2011 the EU has emphasized the severe impact of the consumption of raw materials in the construction industry, which represents 50% of the excavated materials each year. The Roadmap anticipates that by 2020 ‘significant improvements in resource and energy use during the life- cycle – with improved sustainable materials, higher waste recycling, and improved design – will contribute to a competitive construction sector and the development of a resource efficient building stock. This requires the active engagement of the whole value chain in the construction sector’ [1]. Both in new construction and retrofitting, the reuse and recycling of materials can guarantee the reduction of the environmental footprint, and in particular the embodied energy, of building components: in fact, 10-15% [2] of energy consumption in the construction sector worldwide is due to raw materials extraction . Figure 1: Recycling of specific materials from C&D waste In addition to this, Construction Renovation and by selected EU countries (ETC-SCP, 2009). Demolition (CRD) waste accounts for a great portion of The aim of significantly increasing the recycling the waste flow in Europe: inert waste make up one third of processes is stated by the European Directive the entire volume of waste produced annually in EU, 98/2008/EU on waste , which in Article 11 states that ‘by which means one billion tonnes per year [3]. The recycling 2020, the preparing for re-use, recycling and other rate for CRD waste is significant only in countries with material recovery, including backfilling operations using fewer mineral resources, such as the Netherlands, and in waste to substitute other materials, of non-hazardous

GDC2012 Conference construction and demolition waste excluding naturally negative impacts of production, to a new model where occurring material defined in category 17 05 04 in the list production has positive impacts on the environment and of waste shall be increased to a minimum of 70% by on society, elevating the ambition from eco-efficiency to weight’. The EU minimum target, if for some Member eco-effectiveness . The latter is much more difficult to States is already achieved or at least near (Netherlands, reach, because it is not limited to the control and Belgium, Germany, Austria), for Italy is particularly reduction of the damages caused by production activities, ambitious: the average percentage of waste diverted from but it represents the attempt of making industrial cycles landfill is in fact close to 10%, with a significant part of natural cycles, without generating any damage but discrepancy between the central/northern regions and being beneficial to the environment and not only to men. southern/island regions. Moreover, in the above- To reach this goal, production must become a continuous mentioned Directive member states are asked to promote cycle of use and reuse of materials without waste. In fact, ‘high quality recycling’ by increasing waste separation, all the major nutrients of our planet are continuously which in the building sector can be translated into high recycled in a cyclical biological system in which ‘waste quality selective demolition processes, which are still quite equals food’ [4]: in this sense, all wastes are potential rare in Italy. 'nutrients' for both the biological and the technical cycle. Finally, Article 4 states a precise hierarchy which puts This new way of conceiving production activities elicits a prevention and reuse above all other strategies: ‘the shift of our point of view: producing something which is following waste hierarchy shall apply as a priority order in less bad than what we used to produce is not enough. waste prevention and management legislation and policy: We need to design and build things which are good for us (a) prevention; (b) preparing for re-use; (c) recycling; (d) as well as for the environment: ‘thinking of design in other recovery, e.g. energy recovery; and (e) disposal’. terms of eco-effectiveness could represent an This hierarchy still tends to be disregarded all across unprecedented innovation, or it may simply help us to Europe, because of legal and economic incentives which optimize a system that already exists. It is not the solution drive into recycling or energy recovering, without even itself which is radical, but rather the change of trying to reclaim or reuse valuable materials. This brings perspective, the transition from an old view of nature as to a diffuse down-cycling of components, with a great loss something to be controlled, to a creative attitude’ [4]. The of energy and materials still suitable to maintain their imperative of closing production cycles, essential for the original function or even have an updated scope. The contemporary ecological paradigm, can only be applied correct integration of the above mentioned strategies, with a creative effort in the philosophy of design. respecting their right priority with the prevalence of reuse, Undoubtedly, since the elaboration of the C2C theory in is the only way to obtain a positive environmental balance 2002, given the complexity of its objectives, its in a building intervention, because it allows the control of experimental application has not spread extensively. embodied energy in buildings. However in 2009 the EU has given rise, on the initiative of In fact, in the light of the reduction of operational energy the Province of Limburg (Netherlands/Belgium), to an of buildings, obtained in Europe in recent years thanks to interesting fast-track project, called C2C Network . The the spread of technological and plant solutions that enable project lasted two years, ending in December 2011, and us to create passive, Nearly Zero Energy or Energy-Plus involved ten countries in the dissemination and buildings, the impact of embodied energy of materials implementation of the C2C theory. The Network has and components appears more evident and severe. collected 160 case studies in different sectors, showing However, whereas the reduction of operational energy of how in many C2C buildings and products in Europe, buildings can be achieved through the improvement of mainly in the Netherlands but also in other countries like energy efficiency of building envelope and facilities, Finland and Italy itself, the implementation of the theory addressing the challenges related to the life cycle of has produced significant environmental, social and materials requires a complex paradigm shift, involving economic results. Among the case studies collected from different segments of the building industry in an the Cradle to Cradle Network there are 59 industrial adaptation to the circular processes of nature. products, 39 buildings, 30 examples of spatial area development and 32 models of governance [5]. The Milestone set by the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe is that ‘by 2020 the renovation and 3 THE ROLE OF BUILDING DESIGNERS IN THE construction of buildings and infrastructure will be made to ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS SELECTION OF high resource efficiency levels. The Life-cycle approach MATERIALS will be widely applied; all new buildings will be nearly zero-energy (Directive 2010/31/EU) and highly material While underlining the crucial role of recycled materials for efficient, and policies for renovating the existing building an eco-effective architecture, it is necessary to point out stock will be in place (Art. 9, Directive 2010/31/EU) so that the problems that hinder their spread, such as regulation it is cost-efficiently refurbished at a rate of 2% per year’. inadequacies and lack of systematic and diffuse This means reducing, reusing, and recycling most if not all information on their potential. Nevertheless, what materials that remain after construction or renovation significantly limits the implementation of these strategies interventions, in order to drastically reduce the amount of is the lack of awareness about the ecological behaviour of waste produced, while at the same time enhancing the materials and components in the actors of the building adoption of recycled materials and reused components. process, in particular architects and building contractors. To work on a progressive reduction of the demand of 2 FROM ECO-EFFICIENCY TO ECO- virgin materials in the next few years, some rules and EFFECTIVENESS : THE CRADLE TO CRADLE habits in architecture and landscape design have to be APPROACH TO PRODUCTION changed: a conscious and responsible choice of materials The demand of virgin materials can only be reduced by and components should become a central issue of design closing production cycles, with an innovative materials for both new construction and energetic/environmental management inspired by the Cradle to Cradle theory: retrofitting of existing buildings, allowing us to drastically based on eliminating the concept of waste, this approach reduce the demand for energy and virgin raw materials suggests to go beyond the mere goal of minimizing the and to respond to the ethical and legal obligation of a lesser extent than in countries like USA, where wood closing the production cycles of building materials. construction is definitely more common. Therefore, It is therefore necessary to monitor the flow of building technological solutions aimed at the treatment of materials in the different phases of the construction demolition debris on site are needed, especially in cases process, in order to maximize the effective use of of refurbishment interventions, which are prevalent in resources, integrating responsible sourcing with the Italy, where only a small percentage of demolitions strategic practices of reuse and recycling. Responsible address the whole building, whereas partial renovations sourcing is the key strategy for a sustainable procurement are definitely more frequent. of materials: it offers a holistic approach to the A very interesting example, in this sense, is the research management of a product in its whole life cycle, from project Aufbaukörnungen of the Arbeitsgruppe Recycling, extraction of raw materials to, manufacturing, processing, F.A. Finger-Institut für Baustoffkunde, Fakultät use, reuse, recycling, and disposal of the final waste. It Bauingenieurwesen, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. This provides an ethical management of the production chain research works on the consideration that in Germany one that includes social, economic and environmental third of the construction waste is not recycled and that principles, and addresses issues such as the involvement only 1% of construction waste recycled is used in building of stakeholders and the management of supply chains, construction. Its aim is the development of a mobile upstream of the industrial production. However, there is construction waste treatment plant which can produce a still much to do in order to integrate responsible sourcing material with definable and reproducible properties from with reduction, reuse and recycling strategies organically heterogeneous, fine-grained mineral construction waste in the building process. (Figure 2).

4 INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR THE PROCESSING OF CRD WASTE In this context, research on materials represents a field of primary importance for the optimization of building environmental performances during construction, use and demolition: by reintroducing waste as secondary raw material , it is possible to significantly lower embodied energy ensuring a comparable quality of components. Virtuous cases of building materials produced by recycling pre- and post-consumer waste arising from Figure 2: Mobile construction waste treatment plant made separate municipal collection or from the building sector of a primary screen, an impact crusher and a magnet itself are increasing worldwide. Recycling processes ( 08/12). based on environmentally friendly and energy efficient These innovative technologies for the improvement of processes begin to spread, as well as innovative recycling processes applied to CRD wastes, especially treatments of waste from CRD. Indeed, while those which can be applied directly on the building site considerable amounts of recyclable materials still end up and dedicated to debris of reinforced concrete, masonry in landfills, the use of recycled and ecological materials is and the mixed ones, are not very common yet, but could spreading worldwide, fostered by the importance that become a key answer to the need of reducing the amount green certification systems for buildings, such as of wastes destined to landfill, by ensuring a shorter BREEAM, LEED, MINERGIE and ITACA, give to recycled sequence of phases to the recycling process. The content and to local sources. comparison between in situ and industrial treatments Using secondary raw materials available locally ensures elicits the issue of quality verification, which is not always greater independence in the supply of resources and in possible if wastes are recycled on site, but is essential to some cases can even offer higher quality products. For the whole eco-effectiveness of these procedures. example, consider the aggregates resulting from the crushing of concrete in their secondary use as a filling of 5 LIFE CYCLE CONTROL OF BUILDING road embankments: in this case the traces of binder which MATERIALS: STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES remain upon debris, due to the load, over time provide for OF THE ITALIAN REALITY an increased carrying capacity and stiffness of the In this field, the Italian reality is quite controversial: with a embankment. On this issue, see the guidelines for the life- building sector mainly characterized by the backwardness cycle of recycled aggregates produced within the of processing techniques, and even of the collecting European project SARMa [6]. system, of CRD waste, considerable amounts of Indeed, while the opportunity of reducing the number of materials still end up in landfills, or are fly-tipped. A demolitions mainly depends on each country’s urban significant reason for this is the backwardness of the strategies and policies, the quality of the products arising whole Italian building sector, which is typically rather from demolition depends on the accuracy of the project traditional and not much industrialized. and on the techniques adopted, which can make a Furthermore, the excessive consumption of non- difference, by demonstrating the technical inter- renewable raw materials in Italy appears clear if one changeability of recycled materials with virgin ones . considers the mining industry of stone materials: there The development of advanced selective demolition are 5,736 active quarries in Italy, with 144 million cubic techniques and innovative recycling processes applied to meters, including sand, gravel, limestone and ornamental CRD wastes is quite frequent in some countries, but not stone, extracted in 2010 [7]. The largest portion of everywhere in the EU. materials excavated are destined to the production of A significant barrier to the spread of the practice of cement and concrete, which is still the dominant building recycling of demolition materials is the difficulty of treating technology in Italy: limestone, sand and gravel make up CRD waste on site. Given the prevalence of reinforced 80% of the extracted raw materials each year. concrete and brick in the Italian building stock, for On the contrary, industry turns out high quality building example, the practices of deconstruction can be applied to materials, often produced by recovering, reusing or recycling post-consumer waste from separate refuse cluster: a new system of authorized “quotas” which can collection, in particular plastic and glass or post-industrial be traded between businesses to progressively reduce waste, for example in the ceramic sector in Emilia- the ceramic industries’ emissions into the atmosphere. Romagna and integrating them with quality virgin Besides reducing average waste production, techniques materials. have also been introduced to allow very high percentages A greater effort should be done in the recycling of of waste to be reused in the sector, in some cases almost demolition waste: almost 98% of construction projects in 100%. An integrated report about the ceramic cluster of Italy consists in requalification and is characterized by Sassuolo-Scandiano in 2008 provides an interesting micro demolitions, while new construction interventions as picture of the flow of recycling and reuse of waste and well as full demolitions are a minority. In this context, production residues in the district: almost all the factories reusing and recycling materials on site could allow closed recycle almost all waste production and water treatment, loop interventions, as it happens usually in the restoration both internally and externally. In particular, reuse of historical buildings. The same strategies would provide reaches 100% for unfired and fired waste , which the opportunity to operate on existing buildings for energy- represent the main production waste, and about 25% of environmental retrofit, rehabilitation, consolidation and the waste of purification (exhausted lime). aesthetic improvement, in a widespread and Specific research projects concerning possible uses of environmentally friendly way, and have a specific potential waste from the ceramic industries in other productive in the Italian reality. processes are being developed in the same district. A 5.1 Green manufacturing processes: the ceramic good example is an experiment, conducted by CCB with sector in Emilia-Romagna the Italian industry MAPEI within the laboratory CerPosa Italy has a very strong and renowned ceramic industry: in in 2011, on how to grind the fired waste deriving from the 2011 there were 163 ceramic tile manufacturers production of tiles in the proper way to replace the sand in operating, which produced about 400 million square the mortar used for the laying of the tiles themselves [8]. metres of tiles. Environmental safety and quality have So, the Italian ceramic industry strives to combine long been amongst the key objectives of the Italian environmental protection, safety and health with the ceramic industry, which was the first in the world to maintenance and development of its international address these issues. Owing to its rapid development competitiveness. In recent years, voluntary certifications over the past thirty years and the high geographical spread in the whole productive sector, through the concentration of companies, it has become necessary to application of comprehensive and integrated standards adopt new measures for limiting environmental impact. and regulations, such as Ecolabel, ISO 14001, EMAS, The analytical tools and environmental policies were and specific LEED guidelines for producers, which initially focused on ‘end of pipe’ pollution control (i.e. marked a profound change in the corporate management. limited to reducing the effects on the environment without LEED guidelines for ceramic tiles were prepared by addressing the underlying causes) and have now been Confindustria Ceramica in collaboration with the Ceramic superseded. Today the Italian tile industry is at the Centre of Bologna, Habitech - Technological District of forefront of research into technologies, raw materials and Trentino and the LEED Work Group. They provide a processes for reducing the impact of production activities selection of the significant credits for ceramic products on the environment and humans. and a key to the relevant parameters and represent a In environmental terms, the production phase is the most useful instrument for company technicians who need to relevant segment of the life cycle of a ceramic product. reply to the technical questions, which are asked more The environmental issues associated with manufacturing and more frequently by distributors and designers to are: gaseous emissions, energy consumption, water manufacturing companies; furthermore they represent a consumption, discharges of wastewater and waste valid support for the qualification of a company’s products generation. Because of the strong geographic within the rating system. concentration which characterizes the provinces of Similar LEED guidelines have been developed in Italy for Modena and Reggio Emilia, the so called Ceramic other building materials industries: for doors and shutters cluster , this area suffers a multiplication of environmental (by UCCT, member of the EDSF - European Door and effects which has led it to take a serious strategic path Shutter Federation, and Habitech), for thermal insulation towards a practical application of the principles of made of rigid polyurethane foam (by ANPE and Habitech) sustainable development. and for wood furniture (by FEDERLEGNO and Habitech). Ceramic industry has, in particular, tried to reach the full These guidelines are helping the spread of this voluntary reuse of its waste, to reduce water withdrawals and certification for green buildings in Italy, where in 2009 the emissions and to maximize the eco-efficiency of its Green Building Council has introduced a specific national productive processes. The concentration of industries in protocol, and where about 60 buildings have obtained the manufacturing districts has encouraged the application of LEED certification in just a few years. Nonetheless, it is effective control measures, thanks to territorial proximity important to notice that only 7% of LEED certified and to competition between individual companies: this has buildings in the U.S. have so called reuse credits , and helped achieving significant results, documented in very few exploit the credits concerning regional materials, reports with the collaboration of sector research centres due to the large distances which characterize the and laboratories such as the CCB (Ceramic Centre of American country. On the contrary, Italy has a great Bologna). potential for working on local supply chains. Following the introduction of internal or inter-company 5.2 Design for reuse of existing buildings and recycling systems, 90% of companies no longer discharge materials: the Alberghi diffusi in Basilicata waste water. Thanks to innovations introduced for The instability which followed the outbreak of the promoting energy saving, since the 1980s the sector has American housing bubble has recently led to a greater also gradually reduced its production of carbon oxide, attention to the requirements of quality and durability in which has now stabilised at the levels of 1970 when the building sector. As a matter of fact, a commodity output was half the current figure. Since 2009 an destined to early obsolescence risks to be not just Emissions Trading Agreement is in force in the ceramic ecologically but socially and economically harmful. In this Civita, which degrades towards the river bed, the AD sense, by choosing building materials we should mainly takes up three different levels, connected by staircases consider their environmental compatibility and durability, and terraces and comprises eighteen rooms/grottos, each instead of focusing on aesthetic or economic aspects. one with its own access through a small garden with a Furthermore, Italy owns a significant built heritage, view upon the Murgia Park. characterized by complexity and stratification, which at the same time suffers a widespread inadequacy with respect to housing requirements. This context imposes a major breakthrough: the challenge of renovation, which must be conducted with the above mentioned environmental issues concerning materials in mind. As a matter of fact, Italy has a relevant tradition in the restoration of historical buildings, where great attention has always been paid to the reuse of components and materials, aiming at reaching the highest compatibility of original elements with restored ones, which could inspire new experiences applied to more modern assets. Significant examples of renovation of entire villages through the reuse of old buildings and local materials can be found in Italy in the so-called Alberghi Diffusi . This new form of hospitality, whose main components are Figure 3: Civita Grottos, partially excavated in the sloping distributed in different buildings, all located in the same wall of the ravine on the Gravina River, Basilicata,Italy. village or town, satisfies the tourists’ demand of staying in These assets are particularly well integrated with their contact with residents and local people rather than only territory, because at the time they were built poverty and with other tourists. The term ‘diffuso’ (diffuse) denotes a lack of resources forced to choose local materials, with structure that is horizontal, and not vertical like the one their patterns and colours clearly belonging to the original pertaining to traditional hotel buildings. At the mean time, topography of the area. These buildings interpret in a very this form of hospitality has showed to be very efficient in immediate way the genius loci and should be protected enhancing towns and villages that are artistically or with conservation and reuse strategies which can prevent architecturally peculiar and interesting, through the the visual pollution that could be caused by the renovation of old, dismissed buildings. This also helps extraneousness of materials and technologies, such as solving the problem of hospitality without building new those used during the second half of the last century. structures. In the restoration of the old grottos, designers have had The concept of Albergo Diffuso , first applied in Santo recourse to salvaged materials and objects : furniture Stefano di Sessanio, in the Italian region of Abruzzo by has been limited to the essential pieces, in order to avoid Daniele Kihlgren, has recently been transferred to interfering with the dramatic materiality of these places, Basilicata, by the Sassi of Matera and by the Civita as for example household linen which has been Grottos, where it has helped protecting a unique reclaimed from old trousseaus (Figure 4). architectural and cultural heritage. The Sassi of Matera represent a unique historical town centre, carved out entirely from chalk stone. The traditional dwellings are caves excavated in the sloping wall of a deep ravine and date back, originally, to the Neolithic era. In the 1950s, after being inhabited for decades despite malaria and poor hygienic conditions, the Sassi were abandoned due to their neglected condition and because they were considered an evident example of the under development of Southern Italy. They became property of the state and walls were erected to prevent them from being occupied, but this stopped natural ventilation leading to rapid degradation. The rehabilitation of the Sassi began in 1986, with an intervention of the Italian Government, followed in 1993 by the inscription as an UNESCO World Heritage Site, also thanks to the proposal written by a local architect, Pietro Laureano [9]. Matera became a destination for both national and Figure 4: Interior of the Albergo Diffuso in Civita: both international tourists and the individual requests to return materials and furniture have been locally reclaimed. and live in the Sassi multiplied. They were equipped with The conversion of the grottos in hotel rooms can be a network of water systems, drains, gas, electricity and considered as an up cycling of the original function of the telecommunications, whose cables were buried in caves, which brings benefits not only to the architectural underground trenches so not to disturb its architectural heritage, but also to the population, generating a work qualities or the landscape. Around 3,000 people live in the activity out of the specific features of the site. Local typical cave-homes today, while some grottos have been identity is no longer seen as limiting, but as a value to be turned in Albergo Diffuso . preserved. The Albergo Diffuso of Civita is located in the grottos This new approach of Conservative Restoration of minor which had been excavated in the cliffs of the Gravina heritage is enhancing many small Italian villages which River, facing the Murgia Park with its rock churches were wasting away under the weight of time and neglect, (Figure 3). Occupying the oldest and poorest part of the and were threatened by speculation. 6 ACTIONS AND INSTRUMENTS FOR THE certification, especially for the credits of the area PROMOTION OF A SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT Materials and Resources . OF WASTE IN ITALY Drawing inspiration from these positive experiences, new instruments could be developed to help Italy reach the above mentioned targets. The actual application of sustainable management of waste in Italy calls for five main actions: • Enabling a greater awareness of the actual situation of CRD waste in the country by helping to understand: the composition and causes of waste, the typical wastage rates of different materials, the financial and the environmental cost of waste , which includes the impacts associated with manufacturing and distributing the wasted products, e.g. embodied Figure 5: Storage of salvaged materials from buildings energy, which is usually far greater than the subject to partial/total demolition and manual removal subsequent impacts associated with managing the techniques, sold by dealers who adhere to the British waste material, especially if it is reused [10]. network SALVO (Salvo Fair 2012, Maidenhead, UK). • Updating, tightening and implementing the Other indispensable tools which can help designers regulations for the management of CRD waste and, dealing with the complexity of technological design based more broadly speaking, for responsible sourcing on reuse/recycle are assessment methods and choice and procurement of materials in the building sector, backups. In this sense, it would be very useful to transfer in particular landfill taxes or bans : this would the C2C certification system from the scale of the product increase the cost of waste management, forcing to the whole building: this certification, which raises the building companies to prevent waste. In this sense, thresholds of tolerance far beyond compliance with very positive models are British laws such as the regulatory limits, is particularly difficult to apply to the Smart Waste Management Plan, Landfill Tax and whole building and elicits a specific variation. Moreover, Aggregate Levy . tools supporting the design process should be developed • Encouraging supply chain partnerships and as, for example, software for predicting the outcome of agreements, in order to promote environmental selective demolition, allowing the evaluation of ecologic improvements as those achieved in the ceramic and economic sustainability of different scenarios, with cluster in Emilia; promote collaborations between different techniques and outputs. An interesting example different industrial sectors, in order to systematize the is the online tool Smartwaste developed for the United resources and turn one’s waste into another’s raw Kingdom by BRE [11]. material. In Italy, due to the inertia of the building sector, these • Revising Italian technical specifications by updating tools are struggling to spread, making it even harder to performance requirements to the account of ecological implement the above-mentioned strategies. Nevertheless, features and in particular of secondary raw materials , this is certainly the only path which can help building in order to get operators to understand the designers and contractors turn Cradle to Cradle environmental and technical values of reused and strategies into real actions. recycled materials, thus helping a wider acceptance of secondary raw materials . 7 REFERENCES • Developing and spreading specific tools for building [1] EU COM/2011/0571. designers specifically conceived to support the [2] UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), implementation of the strategies of 2002, Annual report Buildings and Climate Change. reduction/reuse/recycling. [3] European Commission, Joint Research Centre, In the fragmentary Italian situation, in fact, new Institute for Environment and Sustainability, 2011, instruments, such as web-based software, tools or Supporting Environmentally Sound Decisions for databases, could help matching demand and supply and C&D Waste Management – A practical guide to LCT facilitating the dialogue between designers, builders and and LCA . producers. Reuse and recycling strategies require a major effort in finding materials and in the recognition of local [4] Braungart M., McDonough W., 2002, Cradle to resources, both through direct search of the territorial Cradle: remaking the way we make things , North sources and through the help of new tools such as online Point Press, New York. platforms, already quite widespread in the U.S. and U.K., [5] (07/12) . which act as a place of exchange, mainly at a regional [6] (04/12). level, for building materials resulting from construction or [7] Legambiente, 2011, Rapporto cave. demolition. These platforms give the unique opportunity to match many users and resources distributed widely at the [8] (07/12) . local level, allowing an exchange otherwise impossible. [9] Laureano P., 1993, Giardini di Pietra, i Sassi di Significant examples of platforms for the exchange of Matera e la civiltà mediterranea , Bollati Boringhieri, reclaimed reusable materials and building components, Torino. whose purpose is to facilitate reuse through an easy [10] Hobbs G. (edited by) 2011, Construction Waste access to data and ads, are the British SALVO (Figure 5), Reduction around the World - CIB Publication 364, active as a directory since 1991, and the web portal of the Working Commission W115 Construction Materials U.S. brokerage company Planet Reuse . This company, Stewardship. run by LEED AP Nathan Benjamin, thereby offers support [11] (08/12). to designers and users interested in obtaining LEED