While the increasing rate of urbanisation is a critical concern for socio-environmental reasons, this also leads to more extraction of natural raw materials and the generation of significant quantities of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Although the use of recycled C&D waste products is technically feasible and regulated, and positive application examples are evident, it is still unclear how to engage key stakeholders to leverage this opportunity in construction projects. Previous research has shown that there is some level of resistance to the reuse of recycled C&D waste products in construction projects. This highlights a critical need to identify the roles of key stakeholders and the barriers they face when using recycled C&D materials. This paper therefore investigates the type of stakeholders influencing the use of recycled C&D waste products and the main factors affecting stakeholders’ decisions to use recycled C&D waste products through a systematic literature review. The authors present an emergent enablers and barriers for recycled C&D waste products model and provide commentary on how stakeholders’ perceptions, decision and behaviour influence the use of recycled C&D waste products. The authors also contribute to the body of knowledge with insights into the factors that various stakeholders believe influence the market for recycled C&D waste products and provides a reference point for authorities to consider these behavioural insights for policy reform.

The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry has a reputation for low resource efficiency worldwide. Policymakers are exploring various avenues to address the issue, with one option being a shift toward a circular economy (CE). However, first one must identify how the relevant stakeholders perceive the concept. Hence, this study aimed to elicit stakeholders’ perceptions about CE and identify the main barriers and enablers affecting its adoption in the Australian context. A total of 132 respondents representing various stakeholder groups were surveyed. The findings revealed that only participants’ awareness of CE has a meaningful link with adoption; and this has a statistically significant association with major CE adoption indicators (i.e. adoption, willingness to apply, level of agreement on considering CE as business ethics and that CE is beneficial). The top three barriers were a: ‘lack of incentives’; ‘lack of specific regulations’; and a ‘lack of knowledge’. The three top enablers were reported to be ‘R&D of enabling technologies’, ‘educate project stakeholders’ and ‘provide evidence for the CE added value’. This paper could inform policy development activities in the Australian context and provides the foundation for a roadmap to a CE within the national AEC industry.