Building with waste: non-monetary economics in reuse construction

Holden, Samuel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5019-6476 (2025) Building with waste: non-monetary economics in reuse construction. Urban Research and Practice. ISSN 1753-5069

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Abstract

Direct equivalence is defined and introduced in this paper as a direct exchange for mutual benefit. REACH Homes, a not-for-profit housebuilder, use direct equivalence to access waste materials for construction. This is simultaneously a critique of the construction industry’s waste practices and a way to engage in construction with little capital. Through this lens, this paper asks: How do non-monetary economics contextualise the lack of material reuse in UK construction? Furthermore, the case strengthens UK government claims that unreliable markets, material costs, and awareness attribute to the low rate of construction reuse whilst establishing policy as a further factor.