Unveiling Technological Innovation in Construction Waste Recycling: Insights from Text Mining

Dealing with solid waste has always been a global concern, and construction waste is one of the most important parts. Addressing how to properly dispose of construction waste, reduce its negative environmental impact, and achieve effective resource recycling has emerged as an urgent problem to be solved. Technological innovation underpins efficient waste reduction, reuse, and recycling, but existing research often overlooks systematic and quantitative measurements of innovation initiatives. This study uncovers the development status and trends of construction waste recycling (CWR) technology, identifies key points and potential innovation directions for technological development, and also explores practical strategies to promote technological innovation and industrial growth. Through patent analysis, this study uncovers the current status of technological innovation within China’s CWR industry. A text mining approach is employed to analyze patent texts related to core technologies, explore topic contents, and identify topic intensities and evolution trends. A comparative analysis between China and the global dominant countries in CWR reveals China’s technological strengths and weaknesses. The results indicate that patent applications in China’s CWR industry are substantial, with a rapid growth rate, while its global competitiveness remains weak. The applicants are widely distributed, with traditional enterprises demonstrating strong innovation capabilities, while emerging and small-to-medium enterprises lack vitality. The industry has potential advantages in developing resource recycling devices and construction wastewater treatment technology, but the technological foundation in some other core technologies is weak. This study offers an overview of technological innovation initiatives in the CWR industry, representing a breakthrough in existing research. The findings will assist policymakers in formulating evidence-driven strategies to promote CWR.