Matching Items (3)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Construction and Demolition Waste
- All Subjects: Environmental Economics
- All Subjects: Concrete Pavement
- Creators: Abbott, Joshua JKA
- Creators: Aldaaja, Mohammad
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Resource Type: Text
Description
The built environment is responsible for a significant portion of global waste generation.
Construction and demolition (C&D) waste requires significant landfill areas and costs
billions of dollars. New business models that reduce this waste may prove to be financially
beneficial and generally more sustainable. One such model is referred to as the “Circular
Economy” (CE), which promotes the efficient use of materials to minimize waste
generation and raw material consumption. CE is achieved by maximizing the life of
materials and components and by reclaiming the typically wasted value at the end of their
life. This thesis identifies the potential opportunities for using CE in the built environment.
It first calculates the magnitude of C&D waste and its main streams, highlights the top
C&D materials based on weight and value using data from various regions, identifies the
top C&D materials’ current recycling and reuse rates, and finally estimates a potential
financial benefit of $3.7 billion from redirecting C&D waste using the CE concept in the
United States.
ContributorsAldaaja, Mohammad (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Buch, Rajesh (Committee member) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Sustainable Materials Management and Circular Economy are both frameworks for considering the way we interact with the world's resources. Different organizations and institutions across the world have adopted one philosophy or the other. To some, there seems to be little overlap of the two, and to others, they are perceived as being interchangeable. This paper evaluates Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) and Circular Economy (CE) individually and in comparison to see how truly different these frameworks are from one another. This comparison is then extended into a theoretical walk-through of an SMM treatment of concrete pavement in contrast with a CE treatment. With concrete being a ubiquitous in the world's buildings and roads, as well as being a major constituent of Construction & Demolition waste generated, its analysis is applicable to a significant portion of the world's material flow. The ultimate test of differentiation between SMM and CE would ask: 1) If SMM principles guided action, would the outcomes be aligned with or at odds with CE principles? and conversely 2) If CE principles guided action, would the outcomes be aligned with or at odds with SMM principles? Using concrete pavement as an example, this paper seeks to determine whether or not Sustainable Materials Management and Circular Economy are simply different roads leading to the same destination.
ContributorsAbdul-Quadir, Anisa (Author) / Kelman, Candice (Thesis director) / Buch, Rajesh (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Groundwater depletion is threatening the livelihoods and welfare of millions of people living in rural and urban areas worldwide. As had been the experience with many countries, aquifers in Iran have been rapidly depleted over the past decades. The Rafsanjan Plain, Iran (a global center for pistachio cultivation and production) is the study area for this dissertation. The Rafsanjan Plain exemplifies a region where a mismatch between ‘economy’ (socio-economic growth) and ‘ecology’ (water resources’ carrying capacity) has resulted in unsustainable development. Besides groundwater scarcity, Rafsanjani pistachio growers are currently dealing with other stressors, notably declining agricultural profitability.Using a social-psychological lens and employing both qualitative and quantitative social science research methods, I explored adaptation to groundwater scarcity among pistachio growers in Rafsanjan. Through adopting an integrated approach combining vulnerability and resilience frameworks, a theoretical framework was developed as a diagnostic tool for conceptualization and measurement of adaptation of a groundwater-dependent farmer to groundwater scarcity. The framework consists of five components: ‘Social-ecological stressors’(Stressor), ‘Groundwater-dependent livelihood system’(Livelihood), ‘Response options’, (Response) ‘Background variables’, and ‘Structural factors.’
While heterogeneity exists, the majority of pistachio growers’ perceptions and subjective norms on the Livelihood, Stressor, and Response components strongly favor the human element (short-term pistachio production) over the water element (groundwater conservation for future use). Based on the results from two path models, I also found that pistachio growers who had more pessimistic perceptions of the groundwater resources in Rafsanjan were more likely to increase groundwater extraction; however, these growers were also more likely to seek external employment (income diversification). In addition, a general structural equation model was developed to analyze socio-psychological factors that affect the intentions to adopt and the actual adoption of income diversification in response to groundwater scarcity. The developed model includes affective attitudes, instrumental attitudes, and self-efficacy. This model explains 55% and 36% of the variance in intentions to pursue and the actual pursuit of income diversification among farmers, respectively. Results of this dissertation can inform policies for conserving groundwater resources and maintaining pistachio growers’ livelihoods.
ContributorsHashemi, Seyyed Mahmoud (Author) / Kinzig, Ann APK (Thesis advisor) / Perrings, Charles CP (Committee member) / Abbott, Joshua JKA (Committee member) / Eakin, Hallie HE (Committee member) / Sedaghat, Reza RS (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021