Every year, almost half of the world’s extracted resources goes into constructing new buildings, tying up vast amounts of stone, minerals and metals for decades to come. The construction industry is responsible for more than one-third of global emissions. Meanwhile, the world’s building stock is expected to more than double by 2050. Therefore, over the next decade, more attention must be given to cities’ material intensity and their indirect emissions. This paper suggests using the Circular Economy as a paradigm for this transition and illustrates current policy dilemmas through the case of Oslo. The thesis investigates this transition in construction and identifies utilising material repurposing facilities linked to the seaborne trade-system to increase the circulation of Oslo’s construction material flows. In a circularity scenario analysis for 20202030, where new regulations such as stricter recycling and waste disposal regulations are introduced, waste generation from the construction of new dwellings is found to almost halve, resulting in a radical shift in current waste streams outbound. Raw material demand from Oslo’s construction sector is reduced by one-third, even as construction activity increases. Meanwhile, the proportion of construction-material residues available for reuse will remain stable as more materials are recovered. Therefore, the demand for waste treatment and re-distribution increases proportionally, requiring transport of materials at end-of-life. In a regionally integrated value cycle, port terminals can enable seamless transmission of materials across the chain, where materials are recovered and exchanged continuously, and facilitate for regenerative use of natural resources essential for building our future
