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In a world where the pressure on natural resources is increasing sharply it is crucial for the environment that the resources are used more efficiently. Therefore we simplify the regulations to facilitate more reuse of used building materials says Nikolai Astrup Minister of Local Government and Modernization H. The construction industry consumes enormous amounts of resources and the production of new building materials generates large emissions. Norway will be a pioneer in the development of a green circular economy and the construction industry is important in achieving this says Astrup.The government has recently launched a number of measures to help make the construction industry more circular. We are now sending proposals for amendments to the regulations on documentation of building materials DOK for consultation where the purpose is simpler rules for product documentation for the sale of used building materials. Today the person who sells the building product must have an overview of how the building product has been produced assessed and processed and must prepare documentation. The person who is to use the building product often has little information about the production process itself and therefore only responsibility for requesting the documentation.For used building materials this will often be different. The person who sells or gives away the building product does not necessarily have better conditions than the buyer to provide product documentation. The government now wants the documentation requirements which today are aimed at the sales link mainly removed. At the same time the documentation requirements in the Building Technical Regulations TEK which are aimed at the user of the product are fixed.Today often used building materials are sold at a low price or given away. Thus the costs of preparing product documentation can lead to the building materials being thrown away. It is unsustainable. We therefore propose that the requirements for documenting product properties fall on the player with the greatest motivation to know as much as possible about the product says Astrup. The consultation proposal is one of several measures that have been implemented to give the construction industry increased predictability and simpler rules for the reuse of building materials.Previously the ministry has been in contact with the European Commission to clarify the European regulations and it is now clear that building materials from before 2013 as a general rule must not be CE marked when reused. In May the Directorate for Building Quality launched a digital guide for reuse to ensure that the industry and private individuals can easily get an overview of the requirements that apply to used building materials. The government has also taken the initiative to establish a coordination council to facilitate machine-readable product data which among other things will facilitate more reuse. Better digital product information could contribute to increased reuse. The government has also proposed that greenhouse gas accounts be introduced for commercial buildings and larger residential buildings and that new buildings be designed so that they can be easily dismantled if the buildings have to be demolished.The sum of the measures we are now introducing will hopefully contribute to making the reuse of building materials easier and more profitable for the industry. This is important both to reduce emissions and contribute to less consumption of virgin resources says Astrup.
