A Small-Scale Simulation Approach to Educate the Next Generation of Engineers about Sustainability Challenges in Building Demolition

About 90% of demolition waste is recyclable and reusable based on its inert nature; however, recycling and reuse of those materials are limited. One major barrier is the lack of demolition engineers’ knowledge about sustainable demolition practices. Material separation for recovery at demolition sites is much easier and more effective but more time-consuming than separation for recovery at material recovery facilities. As such, careful demolition planning by construction/demolition engineers is critical; however, most of the US construction engineering curricula do not cover demolition operations, thus lacking learning opportunities about sustainable demolition practices. In an effort to develop the next generation of demolition engineers with the sustainability mindset, we designed small-scale demolition simulation activities using 1:14 scale demolition vehicles where students will be exposed to sustainability challenges (e.g., on-site separation vs. off-site separation) and learned their critical role as construction/demolition engineers. To mimic real-world demolition sites, different structural waste was used, and students would be tasked with operating excavators and trucks in separating and moving different types of materials for recovery within set time constraints. Through the hands-on experience, students could find potential challenges with sustainable operations and develop critical thinking skills to devise solutions and strategies to tackle them.