From Material Recovery to Circular Valorization in Construction and Demolition Waste Management: Evidence and a Circular Valorization Framework from a Brazilian Recycling Facility

Abstract Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) recycling is essential for circular economy strategies, yet material recovery alone does not demonstrate effective circular valorization. This study investigates how a CDW recycling facility can progress from conventional waste recovery toward measurable, traceable, and sustainability-oriented circular resource management. An exploratory-descriptive single-case study was conducted in Porto Rico, Paraná, Brazil, based on systematic direct observation and documentary, operational, and commercialization records. The facility processes approximately 24 000 t of CDW annually, converting concrete and brick waste into recycled gravel, wood into chips for thermal energy applications, and redirecting other recyclable fractions to external recovery chains. Commercialization data for 2022–2023 showed a 5.2% decrease in recycled-gravel sales and a 310.3% increase in other recovered-material volumes, although substantial temporal concentration and variability were observed. The findings reveal circularity gaps related to incomplete material-flow measurement, aggregated records, limited material characterization, market continuity, traceability, and information integration. These results demonstrate that circular performance depends not only on material recovery but also on material quality, value retention, market reinsertion, and measurable resource flows. Based on these empirical gaps, an empirically grounded, case-derived Circular CDW Valorization Framework and a Circular Performance Measurement Architecture are proposed, linking material-flow measurement, material quality, value retention, market development, sustainability indicators, and targeted digital enablement. The study advances the distinction between circular practices and circular performance and provides a structured pathway from waste diversion and material recovery toward measurable and traceable circular resource management.