Usato garantito? Riuso di elementi e nuovo Regolamento per i Prodotti da Costruzione = Certified second hand? Re-use of elements and the new Construction Products Regulation

Acting towards the efficient management of material resources in construction represents a shared priority. To reduce the environmental impacts of the building sector, European institutions have been promoting the adoption of more circular processes at the buildings end of life, also by developing methodologies aimed to foster deconstruction and selective demolition practices to limit construction and demolition waste and to favour the benefits of preparing for re-use over recycling processes. Nevertheless, once a product or component is salvaged, it must be recovered from the waste regime and comply with the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) to be put in the European market. What do the recent changes in the regulatory framework entail for the building elements re-use? Through a critical analysis of the evolution of the normative context, the contribution examines the conditions for reclaimed building products and components to circulate in the market, to outline the main opportunities and barriers re-use processes in building operations deal with. By comparing the previous and current CPRs, the paper summarises the two diff erent procedures required to obtain the CE mark, depicting the transition from a normative void to an apparent specific and fully regulated context. It then examines the main implications for the circulation of reused and remanufactured products in the European market, identifying the most relevant conditions that infl uence their potential spread and outlining the implications about the product use as intended, the related assessed performances and possible procedures to undertake. Although the new Regulation clearly steers the building supply chain towards circularity in building products’ design and ease of repair and refurbish, some inconsistencies and barriers remain for used construction products, possibly limiting their market to the Member State one.