Circular economy (CE) is integrated in many municipal departments, and many people work with CE within the Uppsala region. The region’s circular resources are managed by several entities, such as the municipal company Uppsala Water & Waste which is responsible for the region’s waste management, including recycling and reuse. The sustainability department is responsible for the overall strategy on sustainable resource management and the procurement department for including CE in procurements. The business department cooperates with innovation hubs to develop circular business models. The urban planning administration includes circular solutions and shared mobility in planning. The municipal housing company promotes reuse and recycling among residents.

Urban rural predominance

Intermediate

‘Uppsala’s first marketplace for reusable construction materials’

Uppsala is committed to incentivising a local market for secondary construction materials in dialogue with key local actors. To achieve this goal, the city is developing a physical marketplace for storing and testing materials sourced from disassembly projects. Designed to cater to both industry professionals and the public, it is a collaborative project involving builders, material suppliers, architects, city planners, and local authorities, as part of the Uppsala Climate Protocol, to advance circularity in the construction value chain.

The first site of the marketplace began a pilot phase with surplus materials from construction sites during Q1–Q2 2023. The activities of this marketplace ceased in Q1 2024 due to a lack of supply of surplus materials from building projects. Building on the lessons learned from the previous site, Uppsala is now going to expand this work including construction and demolition waste with the objective of reusing and/or recycling various types of secondary materials. A new site is planned in the Ulleråker district for storage and testing beyond just surplus materials. This new site, owned by the municipality, will be managed by a private entity selected through a procurement process by the City Council.

Objectives

The primary objective is to create a commercially viable market for secondary construction materials in Uppsala. To achieve this goal, Uppsala will focus on the following objectives:

• Activate the network of the Uppsala Climate Protocol to lead on actions related to building material reuse, testing and developing business models connected to reused building materials through practical forms of cooperation and market solutions with Uppsala's construction and real estate sector.
• Disseminate lessons learned with local and regional industry actors, as well as with cities and decision-makers at national and EU level.

Systemic nature

The marketplace primarily focuses on the construction and real estate sectors, but the lessons the region has learned from developing the marketplace could inform the creation of industrial symbiosis networks, applicable to other industries. The initiative involves multiple stakeholders, including private sector players like building materials dealers, demolition contractors, material producers, developers, architects, construction engineers, as well as municipal authorities and a foundation facilitating exchanges between academia, private and public actors.

The circular systemic solution (CSS) also addresses various circularity issues by testing and developing new business models (private-to-private transactions and public-to-private partnerships), public procurement strategies (based on results of the circular solution pilot project) and governance strategies (Uppsala Climate Protocol’s working groups). Lastly, the solution aims to reduce environmental impact (reduction of GHG emissions from construction), reconcile Uppsala’s urban expansion goals with 2050 climate neutrality objectives, and influence urban planning practices (through the need to harmonise new construction sites with climate neutrality goals).

Expected impact

The solution is expected to boost circularity in the local construction sector to help reach Uppsala’s long-term goals, including (1) climate mitigation, (2) socio-demographic and (3) economic goals. With an expected population increase from around 235 000 in 2021 to 325 000 in 2050, its objective to become climate neutral while expanding sustainably will limit the environmental effects of a larger population.

An analysis of the potential for re-use and recycling of building materials in Uppsala showed that reuse of building materials is estimated to generate an annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 386 and 1 534 tonnes of CO2 equivalents and generate sales revenues between EUR 200 000 and EUR 1 million by 2033. Its annual recycling potential ranges from 1 679 to 6 670 tonnes of building materials recycled by 2033. Accordingly, this solution is expected to help reconcile climate change mitigation and local socio-demographic challenges, while also creating positive economic impacts.

Link to existing circular economy strategy and/or action plan

The key municipal policy document on CE is the 2022 ‘Programme for a Circular Uppsala with no waste’. The action plan envisions a fully circular Uppsala by 2050, where there is no waste, only resources, and outlines waste management policies and clarifies municipal ambitions. The waste plan aims to facilitate the municipality to achieve national environmental quality objectives, provide responsible parties and the public with a comprehensive overview of waste management, and highlight opportunities for improvement.

The waste plan's objectives are divided into two target areas: (1) from waste to resource and (2) human-centric waste management. The first target area focuses on recycling, reuse, and hazardous waste, while the second target area covers waste minimisation, littering, the work environment, and services.

Construction is a key sector for Uppsala and several measures related to procurement, building and construction are specified in the plan. Included in the plan are procurement requirements for the preservation and reuse of materials that cover design, construction and conversion, and the demands on minimising waste materials during construction and remodelling. The action plan also contain other specific measures regarding circularity in physical planning, building and construction.

Leading organisation

City of Uppsala

Unit/department/section

• Land and development department of the urban planning administration
• Sustainability department of the municipal management office

Participation in other relevant initiatives

• Klimatkommunerna: network of municipalities in Sweden working on climate policy
• Viable Cities: Strategic innovation programme working towards the mission of Climate Neutral Cities 2030
• NetZeroCities: Uppsala is a Pilot City under this initiative

(Other) Key resources

• Programme for a Circular Uppsala with no waste
• Uppsala Climate Protocol:
  • Building reuse working group – under the broader Focus group Climate neutral Construction and Civil Engineering of the Uppsala Climate Protocol
• SCALE UP – Systematic Climate Action to Lower Emissions in Uppsala (as part of the pilot activities under NetZeroCities)