Recital 16

(16)Construction and demolition is responsible for 37 % of waste in the Union ¹⁵ . Ensuring that the materials used in the construction and maintenance process of buildings and other civil engineering objects come mainly from re-used or recycled (secondary raw) materials; and are in turn prepared for re-use or recycling when the built asset is demolished, can therefore play an important role in the transition to a circular economy. Technical screening criteria therefore should be laid down for the construction of new buildings, renovation of existing buildings, demolition or wrecking of buildings and other structures, maintenance of roads and motorways and for the use of concrete in civil engineering projects. Considerations of the circularity of the materials and the built asset need to be taken into account in the design phase, up until the dismantling phase. The technical screening criteria should therefore follow the principles of circular design and production of the built asset, as well as a circular use of materials used to produce that asset.