Despite the potential carbon and waste reduction benefits of reusing structural steel, there are still many barriers to adoption, including supply chain dynamics and availability (Tinsley et al 2016), absence of trust and lack of communication, and lack of reuse markets (Dunant et al 2017). Our research addresses material availability of structural steel by understanding existing demolition trends across various US Cities. This research applies steel demolition data to geospatial planning data and engineering rules of thumb in order to estimate what types of elements are in a demolished building. The result is a market (city) level supply and demand analysis that 1. Demonstrates potential for steel reuse in that city, 2. Characterizes what type of elements are typically available for reuse, and 3. Illustrates the power of leveraging existing municipal frameworks for circular economy implementation.

This work is in progress and results are not yet publicly available.