Work

Trash to Treasure for Housing Resilience: A Systematic Literature Review of Community-Based Waste-to-Resource Innovations in the Built Environment

Year: 2026

Type: review

Abstract: The built environment continues to encounter significant challenges related to waste generation and resource depletion, driving increased interest in circular economy strategies that extend material lifecycles and mitigate environmental impacts. This systematic review synthesises findings from 60 studies on waste-to-resource innovations across construction and household contexts. Although the existing literature predominantly addresses construction and demolition waste, this review foregrounds household operational waste, an area that remains insufficiently explored despite its importance for everyday resource recovery. The analysis examines how materials generated through routine use, maintenance, and minor renovation activities can be captured and redirected into productive resource streams, with particular attention to governance mechanisms such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). The findings indicate that effective waste-to-resource systems depend on coherent regulatory frameworks and enforcement, economic incentives, enabling technologies, community engagement, and product design that facilitates reuse and disassembly. Key barriers include low public awareness, fragmented supply chains, high recovery costs, weak compliance mechanisms, and materials that are difficult to separate. The review concludes that improving waste-to-resource outcomes in the built environment requires coordinated action among producers, households, local authorities, and technology providers, and it articulates policy-relevant and community-oriented pathways to support more effective resource recovery systems.

Source: Buildings

DOI: 10.3390/buildings16071399

Authors: Funmilayo Ebun Rotimi, Mahesh Babu Purushothaman, Yakubu George Warkaka

Institution: Auckland University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Municipal Solid Waste Management

Subfield: Waste Management and Disposal

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137