On the optimal deconstruction and recovery processes of end-of-life buildings

The rapid growth of the construction industry worldwide has resulted to a vast increase of the produced construction and demolition (C&D) waste. C&D waste being the 30% of the overall municipal solid waste poses a major environmental problem and accordingly several regulatory laws have been mandated to address it by promoting alternative management procedures, such as selected deconstruction for material recovery. This paper addresses the problem of determining the optimal deconstruction depth of an end-of-life building. In this context, a novel mixed-integer linear programming model is developed for supporting the relevant decision-making processes. The applicability of the developed methodology is illustrated by its application on a specific case study while managerial insights regarding the behavior of the optimal solution are obtained and discussed.