A Quantitative Text Analysis of China’s Central and Local Governments’ Construction Waste Management Policies : Focusing on the Case of Hefei City, China

This paper uses NVivo 12 Plus software to conduct a quantitative analysis of policy tools, policy objectives, and policy implementation steps from 1996 to 2024, focusing on 33 policy documents related to construction waste at the Chinese central government level. The analysis found that there was (1) an unbalanced allocation of policy objectives, (2) an irrational mix of policy tools, (3) a lack of market participation, and (4) a lack of public engagement and awareness of environmental issues. To improve this, it was suggested that policies should (1) optimize policy objectives, reduce resources, and improve indicators for resource recycling and harmless treatment, (2) promote a circular economy, and (2) optimize policy tools and strengthen market and public participation. In addition, from 2009 to 2023, 17 policy documents related to construction waste issued by Hefei City, a local government in China, were analyzed, and specific challenges and differences faced by local governments in the process of implementing central government policies were analyzed, and improvement plans were suggested. As a result of the analysis, it is suggested that it is necessary to provide new perspectives and innovative approaches to policy formulation and implementation so that sustainable construction waste management policies based on the circular economy can be promoted.