Circular economy digital market solutions for reuse in the European construction sector

Abstract

Focusing on the cross-matching supply and demand for reused building components and related services, the paper analyses existing Digital Reuse Market Solutions (DRMS) in the European construction sector. A collection of 746 DRMS is built from major online circular economy platforms and custom online search queries. A taxonomy of 9 categories and 28 types is then extracted based on the activities of collected DRMS. Nearly half (46%) of collected DRMS are proper dealers of reused building components. Traditional building component dealers and demolition companies account for another third (32.8%). The rest is made of marketplaces, craftmanship, and providers of related services and knowledge. Only 13.4% of all collected DRMS allow online payment for goods or services.