[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fKLlIO4z65xVWv2bOJhTlXPmolf3D1SwTOq1oi0AG3E0":3,"settings":121,"7fiQ-ce":207,"$fGOzbHVvNKE-rC61tBS91mGpPuJACCG4XZ7H-APU0NEQ":224},{"id":4,"type":5,"cta":6,"cta_link":7,"created_at":8,"updated_at":9,"owner_id":10,"owner_relationship":11,"views":12,"owner":13,"contributors":29,"article_framework_elements":35,"article_industries":64,"article_locations":100,"involved_organisation":108,"collections":109,"image":17,"view_count":12,"contents":110,"canEdit":120},"7fiQ","blog","Learn More","https://circle-economy.com","2025-10-14T08:30:53.000Z","2026-07-25T16:46:15.473Z","ce","no-affiliation",29,{"id":10,"type":14,"owner_id":15,"about":16,"job_title":17,"url":17,"linkedin":17,"email":17,"staff_of_id":17,"organisation_id":10,"organisation":18,"owner":20,"profile":23},"organisation","56NcOv","",null,{"id":10,"name":19,"link":7},"Circle 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consumers, including cellular phones, personal computers, printers, servers, electronic computer components and peripherals, TVs, audio equipment, as well as household appliances, such as refrigerators, washing machines, etc.","goods_and_services",{"article_id":4,"industry_id":72,"created_at":38,"updated_at":8,"industry":73},"energy_utilities_and_independent_power_producers",{"id":72,"name":74,"description":75,"sector":76},"Energy Utilities and Independent Power Producers","Providing electricity and gas services, including traditional and renewable energy generation, natural and manufactured gas and operating gas networks","societal_services",{"article_id":4,"industry_id":78,"created_at":38,"updated_at":8,"industry":79},"transportation_equipment",{"id":78,"name":80,"description":81,"sector":82},"Transportation Equipment","Producing transportation equipment for the movement of goods and people by air, rail, sea, and land, including airplanes, spacecraft and military equipment, ships, boats, rail locomotives and rolling stock, motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, and related equipment, as well as repair services for such equipment","transportation_and_logistics",{"article_id":4,"industry_id":84,"created_at":38,"updated_at":8,"industry":85},"construction_and_real_estate_services",{"id":84,"name":86,"description":87,"sector":88},"Construction and Real Estate Services","Providing residential and non-residential construction services, such as architectural, engineering, planning, real-estate, contracting, and inspection services","construction_and_infrastructure",{"article_id":4,"industry_id":90,"created_at":38,"updated_at":8,"industry":91},"construction_materials_and_products",{"id":90,"name":92,"description":93,"sector":88},"Construction Materials and Products","Producing building materials and finished and semi-finished building products for construction",{"article_id":4,"industry_id":95,"created_at":38,"updated_at":8,"industry":96},"mining",{"id":95,"name":97,"description":98,"sector":99},"Mining","Extracting resources and minerals from the earth, such as coal, oil, gas, iron, bauxite, sand, clay, etc.","materials_and_fuels",[101],{"article_id":4,"location_id":102,"created_at":38,"updated_at":8,"location":103},"1796236",{"id":102,"type":104,"name":105,"color":17,"parent_location_id":106,"created_at":107,"updated_at":17},"city","Shanghai","CHN","2026-02-27T07:54:47.162Z",[],[],[111],{"id":112,"score":113,"body":114,"status":119,"article_id":4,"created_at":38,"updated_at":8,"published_at":8},"xzzt",0,{"image":115,"title":116,"content":117,"summary":16,"attachment":118,"imageCaption":16},"https://kh-assets.prod.circularity-gap.world/main-image/1777380868861-er1Dt7aP.jpg","We must start treating our buildings, cars and infrastructure as urban mines","\u003Cp id=\"\">According to the \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://circularity-gap.world/2025\">\u003Cem id=\"\">Circularity Gap Report 2025\u003C/em> (CGR®)\u003C/a>, a staggering 38% of all materials we consume annually end up in long-lasting, human-made structures, often referred to as ‘stocks’. Every year, more and more materials are extracted, refined and fed into our homes, transportation networks, cars, and appliances. These materials will remain locked there for decades, but not forever—roughly a third of materials in stocks are demolished or discarded every year. With this in mind, how we design, build, and use these assets today will determine whether they become tomorrow’s waste or stand the test of time.\u003C/p>\u003Ch3 id=\"\">From rock to stock \u003C/h3>\u003Cp id=\"\">The report also highlights that the growth of these stocks has increased 23-fold over the 20th century, roughly doubling every two decades. By 2020, the mass of human-made things surpassed that of all living beings on Earth. This trend is largely driven by urbanisation, with city populations projected to climb from 56% in 2021 to 68% by 2050. Rising living standards play a role, too, with higher incomes fueling demand for bigger houses, better cars, and new appliances.\u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">As a result, stock build-up is not only inevitable but also encouraged in lower- and middle-income countries where there is still a need for adequate housing and infrastructure. However, this growth comes with two major challenges. \u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">The first is the environmental impact of large-scale construction. Construction and demolition waste is \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352710223019046?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">estimated\u003C/a> to comprise around a third of global waste. Moreover, extracting, processing, and using materials—especially in concrete production—generate significant carbon emissions. Housing alone is the \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://circularity-gap.world/2021\">second-largest source of carbon emissions\u003C/a>, contributing 13.5 billion tonnes, surpassed only by transportation at 17.1 billion tonnes. Additionally, extraction activities \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://circularity-gap.world/2023\">contribute\u003C/a> to biodiversity loss, pollution, and water scarcity.\u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">The second challenge is resource depletion. According to \u003Cem id=\"\">CGR 2025\u003C/em>, 10% of all materials locked in stocks are metals—a key concern as demand for critical raw materials continues to rise.  The recent surge in laws aimed at securing these resources shows just how seriously governments are taking this issue. Every year, building new stocks—after accounting for what gets torn down—uses 38% of global raw materials. When we include the materials needed to maintain and operate existing structures, such as fossil fuels for heating, this figure rises to 70%. \u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">That’s a huge strain on global resources—and it doesn’t stop there. Materials locked in stocks will remain unavailable for recycling for decades. As more and more structures are added to these stocks, fewer materials will be available to support future growth. That’s why it’s crucial to build stocks that last, use resources efficiently, and are designed so their materials can be recovered and reused at the end of life.\u003C/p>\u003Ch3 id=\"\">From waste to resource \u003C/h3>\u003Cp id=\"\">Given current trends, it’s not hard to imagine a point when critical materials stored in human-made structures will outnumber those available in economically extractable deposits. For example, copper \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es900845v\">is projected\u003C/a> to reach this threshold by the end of the 21st century, making it more abundant in buildings and infrastructure than in the Earth’s reserves. Even today, existing stocks could supply a substantial portion of the materials required to satisfy societal needs. For instance, studies \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02516?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">show\u003C/a> that one kilogram of discarded smartphones contains more gold than what is found in typical gold ores. This illustrates the huge potential of urban mining that has yet to be realised.\u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">Construction and demolition waste is the \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://circularity-gap.world/2025\">largest waste stream\u003C/a> by weight, but only 22% of it is recycled. Even then, much of it ends up in low-value applications like backfilling rather than being reused in new construction. One reason for this is that older buildings weren’t designed with recycling in mind and may contain hazardous materials like asbestos. It’s often more cost-effective to demolish a building than to carefully dismantle it, and the lack of established markets and regulations for secondary materials makes reuse even harder. What’s more, new materials are typically cheaper and come with guaranteed performance, making recycled materials less competitive in cost and quality. \u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">Despite these barriers, solutions do exist. Developing insurance schemes, certifications, and quality standards for recycled materials can build trust in their performance, while government subsidies, incentives, and urban planning can enhance cost competitiveness.\u003C/p>\u003Cfigure id=\"\" class=\"w-richtext-figure-type-image w-richtext-align-fullwidth\" style=\"max-width:1920px\" data-rt-type=\"image\" data-rt-align=\"fullwidth\" data-rt-max-width=\"1920px\">\u003Cdiv id=\"\">\u003Cimg id=\"\" alt=\"__wf_reserved_inherit\" src=\"https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5d26d80e8836af2d12ed1269/68ee09c3a3697afc00a33bc6_vincenzo-cassano-MqAiJPYEFrs-unsplash%20(1).jpg\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003C/div>\u003Cfigcaption id=\"\">Photo by \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://unsplash.com/@myphotoblog?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText\">Vincenzo Cassano\u003C/a> on \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://unsplash.com/photos/a-bulldozer-digging-through-a-demolished-building-MqAiJPYEFrs?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash\u003C/a>\u003C/figcaption>\u003C/figure>\u003Cp id=\"\">‍\u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">These recycling challenges also highlight the importance of keeping existing buildings in use for as long as possible. We can extend their lifespans by removing outdated infrastructure and components containing valuable materials and upgrading basic elements like windows and insulation. These improvements can boost energy efficiency and functionality, reduce the need for new construction, and create a steady stream of secondary materials.\u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">Yet the greatest opportunity lies in designing future buildings and products with circularity in mind.\u003Cstrong id=\"\"> \u003C/strong>Modular buildings and appliances, for example, can be easily repaired, upgraded, or disassembled for reuse. Using renewable, lower-impact materials like timber can reduce their environmental impact. Equipping buildings with energy-efficient technologies like solar panels and heat pumps can also decrease energy consumption, lowering the ‘material cost’ of maintaining them over time. \u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">Governments around the world are beginning to take action. In 2021, Shanghai launched a \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://hollandcircularhotspot.nl/china-construction/\">three-year action plan \u003C/a>to reduce the construction sector’s environmental impact by increasing recycling capacity and cutting down on waste from renovations and demolitions. Meanwhile, Amsterdam’s \u003Ca id=\"\" href=\"https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/policy/sustainability/circular-economy/\">Circular Strategy 2020-2025\u003C/a> aims to reduce the use of virgin materials and resources, with a specific focus on the built environment. \u003C/p>\u003Cp id=\"\">These strategies reflect a growing awareness that the way we build and manage our infrastructure has major implications—not just for material use and waste but also for the energy transition. Renewable technologies like wind turbines, batteries, and solar panels rely on critical raw materials. While they’re often the focus of circular policy discussions, they represent only a small slice of global material stocks. The built environment, by contrast, accounts for a much larger share. Applying circular principles—like design for reuse, material efficiency, and longevity—to buildings and infrastructure could ease pressure on critical resources, reduce emissions, and unlock far greater environmental and social benefits.\u003C/p>\u003Ch3 id=\"\">It’s all set in stone\u003C/h3>\u003Cp id=\"\">Architecture carries an almost eerie sense of permanence. The structures we build today will shape—or scar—our cities for decades, if not centuries. The cost of mistakes is high. While our predecessors were unaware of the long-term health risks and environmental consequences of their actions, today, ignorance is no longer an excuse. Thanks to an ever-growing body of research, we have a clear picture of both the benefits of circular buildings and infrastructure and the costs of continuing down the same path. The decisions we make today will either create opportunities for future generations or pass on yet another problem for them to solve. \u003C/p>",[],"published",false,{"data":122,"meta":206},{"id":123,"documentId":124,"createdAt":125,"updatedAt":126,"publishedAt":127,"nav_secondary":128,"nav_primary":129},76,"cq0rcn2xoi5no1yfyvbgyln1","2025-06-22T14:25:01.818Z","2026-07-02T16:14:49.843Z","2026-07-02T16:14:50.119Z",[],[130,135,163,168,173,201],{"id":131,"label":132,"url":133,"disable_label_url":17,"children_links":134},711,"About","/about",[],{"id":136,"label":137,"url":138,"disable_label_url":17,"children_links":139},715,"Focus areas","programmes",[140,143,147,151,155,159],{"id":141,"label":137,"url":142},1689,"/programmes",{"id":144,"label":145,"url":146},1690,"Cities & regions","/programmes/cities",{"id":148,"label":149,"url":150},1691,"Finance & economics","/programmes/finance",{"id":152,"label":153,"url":154},1692,"Textiles & fashion","/programmes/textiles",{"id":156,"label":157,"url":158},1693,"Jobs & employment","/programmes/jobs",{"id":160,"label":161,"url":162},1694,"Global value chains","/programmes/value-chains",{"id":164,"label":165,"url":166,"disable_label_url":17,"children_links":167},712,"Services","/services",[],{"id":169,"label":170,"url":171,"disable_label_url":17,"children_links":172},713,"Impact","/impact",[],{"id":174,"label":175,"url":176,"disable_label_url":17,"children_links":177},716,"CGR","/cgr",[178,181,185,189,193,197],{"id":179,"label":180,"url":176},1695,"About CGR",{"id":182,"label":183,"url":184},1696,"CGR Global","/cgr/cgr-global",{"id":186,"label":187,"url":188},1697,"CGR Nations","/cgr/cgr-national",{"id":190,"label":191,"url":192},1698,"CGR Regions & cities","/cgr/cgr-regions-cities",{"id":194,"label":195,"url":196},1699,"CGR Industries","/cgr/cgr-industries",{"id":198,"label":199,"url":200},1700,"CGR Methodology","/cgr/cgr-methodology",{"id":202,"label":203,"url":204,"disable_label_url":17,"children_links":205},714,"Resources","/knowledge-hub/search",[],{},[208,214,219],{"id":209,"title":210,"type":5,"image":211,"isCE":212,"edit":120,"date":213},"PkIP","Indicators that drive the circular transition","https://kh-assets.prod.circularity-gap.world/main-image/0pET_wCnpjeFudQV.jpg",true,"2026-07-14T08:39:20.797Z",{"id":215,"title":216,"type":5,"image":217,"isCE":212,"edit":120,"date":218},"cXSM","Circle Economy’s recommendations for an effective Digital Product Passport for\ntextiles","https://kh-assets.prod.circularity-gap.world/main-image/cPJ-o9HkreWxUTtG.jpg","2026-07-20T10:16:43.725Z",{"id":220,"title":221,"type":5,"image":222,"isCE":212,"edit":120,"date":223},"yGkT","Closing the gap: How the EU can lead a fair and global\ncircular transition","https://kh-assets.prod.circularity-gap.world/main-image/FvVyZrIJX5XJEzAI.jpg","2026-07-20T13:44:56.231Z",{"likeCount":113,"isLiked":120}]