Opportunities from Disaster: The Case Using the Circular Economy in Debris Management

Surveyed Results - View survey and study overview in the document linked below.

During the Fall of 2020, surveys were sent out in two waves to members of the National Demolition Association (NDA) through Purdue Polytechnic Institute’s School of Construction Management Technology with 89 total respondents providing insight to the industry.  One of the primary goals of the research was to link the demolition community’s attitudes towards and willingness to adopting more sustainable practices in their debris cleanup operations.  Since emergency managers seek out demolition and cleanup specialists to clear-out debris after a disaster, the researcher merged these attitudes and business-as-usual models, to the responses and were analyzed using the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) strategic planning tool to see where their roles and expertise can grow the business and bolster a community or region’s resiliency.

Regarding Strengths, nearly 87% of those surveyed indicated they are already recycling in their personal lives.  Another positive indicator was the nearly 92% of responses that said their businesses currently use salvaging as a means of company revenues.  The ideas are not new or foreign to the respondents and by making those connections, the findings point toward an upward trend of embracing sustainability, even if not fully altruistically, but in a purely economic matter of business.  On the other hand, the Weaknesses analyzed from the surveys indicated concerns of the ‘trendiness’ of the concepts by not being practical, safe, or fair across the industry.  Additionally, there’s almost 40% of waste handlers in the demolition industry that are not working with either another industrial or secondary market partner take handle or treat the debris coming off of sites.  Lastly, while those surveyed may not directly reflect the demographic breakdowns of the NDA membership by race, gender, or age, but the over-representation of one group over another creates a distinct disadvantage in a fast-growing and evolving market like that of the circular economy.

Speaking of the circular economy (CE), as part of the Opportunities analysis, more than half of those surveyed (54%) have a basic grasp of the idea and concepts presented by the CE.  The growth potential is here and when asked about what would drive them to adopt sustainability, the respondents came back with pointing out that contract requirements, secondary materials market, and tax relief incentives, in that order, would be the most persuasive in forming their business decisions to move in that direction.  The trends of what’s going on in the marketplace and the industry as a whole were identified as well by asking about familiarities the practice of extended producer responsibility and if they had positive or negative leanings regarding profits or sustainability.  In each case, surveyed members are seeing the signs on how those are connected and changing.  In terms of the Threats, surveyed members echoed some of the same issues in the Opportunities analysis on what needs to change regarding the hurdles to adoption.  Some of these threats are easily refocused into opportunities, including ways to gain advantage in the growing market currents and government steering, from local through to federal and international, to spur adoption by setting the standards for a new paradigm in debris management.

For questions contact:

Toy Andrews
Lieutenant Commander | United States Navy

PhD Candidate, Construction Management Technology

Purdue Polytechnic Institute

MS Emergency & Disaster Management

2018 ESE Interdisciplinary Graduate Program Cohort
Purdue Military Research Institute Fellow
850.501.5350 | andrew93@purdue.edu

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