Challenges of reverse logistics development in Iran’s Major construction and civil projects

The traditional flow of materials and products in the construction industry has become linear; meaning all building materials will be repelled as waste at the end of life of the building. However, demolishing the buildings and sending the pile of debris to landfills would not be the best available alternatives anymore. A large percentage of waste in the construction sector is due to damage and loss of construction materials on the site. Other sources of waste production include the destruction and remanufacturing of old buildings. In the present era, optimum management of waste has become an indispensable issue, due to the shortage of natural resources and raw materials and the intensification of environmental pollution caused by construction waste. The implementation of the RL principles is one of the measures to address these concerns. This study seeks to identify reverse logistics challenges that dramatically influence its adoption and implementation in construction projects. Therefore, semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry experts. Finally, according to the qualitative information obtained from the interview and observation, Questionnaires were arranged in the form of Delphi technique and was given to industry managers and experts and 57 challenges were identified and prioritized in different RL sections based on the results.