Construction and Demolition Module Week 1

In week 1 of the Construction and Demolition Waste module on the M.Sc. in Environmental Systems at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, we looked at the different legislative and policy actions related to construction and demolition waste management in Europe and in Ireland. The whole concept of waste was discussed to highlight the need to move away from end-of-pipe solutions to a more resource efficient focus where waste is viewed as a resource. To give an overall picture of the materials economy, have a look at this excellent video by Annie Leonard on the 'Story of Stuff'.

She clearly highlights the difficulty of moving from a linear system to a closed loop system where consumerism becomes a less important element of people's everyday lives. The re-emergence of old concepts such as stewartship and resilience are trying to combat the twin evils of planned and perceived obsolescence. The idea of a work-watch-shop treadmill proviedes a sobering view of how many of use currently (especially in the western world) live our lives.

We then proceeded to examine the historical development of legislative and policy actions related to construction and demolition waste management that have brought us up to the current day. 

Construction and Demolition Waste Week 1

Continuing the Prezi experiment, here is the presentation converting into a Prezi for your viewing pleasure!