A material and component bank to facilitate material recycling and component reuse for a sustainable construction: concept and preliminary study

This paper concerns the reusable components and recycled materials from demounted structures 16 which may draw a large amount of waste in construction industry. By a series of literature review 17 and analyses, a material and component bank was proposed to manage more effectively the 18 recycling of materials and direct reuse of components even of whole components obtained from 19 old structures to facilitate a more sustainable construction industry. The concept, main businesses 20 and work operation of the bank were illustrated in detail including its potential management 21 method and supply chain. The relationship between the bank and current building information 22 modelling, design for deconstruction, supply chain and life cycle assessment based on the bank 23 were then analysed in detail. It can be concluded that the bank could pave the way for effectively 24 performing a further and repaid reuse of components and perfecting current recycling of materials 25 to contribute a more sustainable built environment from the view of various terms mentioned in 26 this study. The bank also can link with current method of life cycle assessment or environmental 27 impact assessment well, which all can promote the construction sustainability indicating the bank 28 can be integrated into current construction industry easily for the future.