The role of education in the circular built environment: Analysis of Australian educational programs impact on construction and demolition waste management

Abstract

Resource circularity has become a necessity in the built environment sector. A significant amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste is generated worldwide. This waste results from poor resource efficiency in the sector. Australia is among the lowest-ranked countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) regarding the sector's resource efficiency. A circular economy and resource efficiency can be achieved primarily through education, enforcement, and encouragement in the sector. Of these three elements, education is the focus of this paper. Education can generate attitudinal and behavioural change among stakeholders to move towards effective waste management (WM). This study aims to determine whether current Australian educational programs have successfully achieved circular economy objectives and improved resource efficiency. This paper provides an insightful overview of the programs and proposes a framework to evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs in a circular built environment. Lastly, it recommends a few practical suggestions to improve their effectiveness in the built environment sector.