Why we don't like material passports

At Rotor, we have been active in the promotion of salvage and reuse of building materials in Brussels and in neighbouring regions since 2006. Over the years, we have witnessed and contributed to maturing debates on this topic, and advancing reuse practices in building projects. While reuse principles are now widely recognized and prioritized across the construction sector and by public authorities, this progress has raised concerns.

Certain terms have become ubiquitous in reuse discussions without deeper examination of their meaning, implications, or consequences for practice. Material passports is one such term, and this article published in Issue 14 of Room One Thousand examines its relevance through our empirical experience with reclamation audits.

Read the full article on our stories page.

Article title 

Why We Don't Like Material Passports

Publication title 

Room One Thousand
Issue 14: Intertidal

Author 

Michaël Ghyoot

Editor 

Jacqueline Zhao

Language

English