Investigation of the Nexus Between Construction and Demolition Waste and Building Information Modeling: Scientometric and Scoping Review

The construction industry contributes 40% to global waste generation, leading to heavy environmental impacts and economic losses. Alternatively, Building Information Modeling (BIM) is pointed as a promising solution to achieve zero-net waste in the industry. However, BIM implementation for Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) management (CDWM) is still a contemporary nexus and requires better understanding. Through a scientometric and scoping review, this study revealed that BIM use for CDWM started raising more interest only in 2021 with further emphasis in China and the UK, and that 83.1% of authors published only once. The study showed that despite the proven novel introduction of BIM into CDWM subjects, BIM has already demonstrated high efficiency in calculating CDW and related environmental impacts; minimizing waste through efficient construction materials’ management and design; enabling automated estimation and early waste management toward more eco-friendly strategies; and collaborating with other technologies for a better CDWM. Moreover, the research showed a high disparity between the construction industry’s contributions to regional waste generation, which was attributed to differences in economic development, population density, urbanization levels, construction practices, used waste management policies, cultural attitudes, and level of resource consumption. This paper constitutes an important contribution to the body of knowledge as it enlightens scholars, policymakers, and professionals about BIM assets and current metrics for more efficiency in managing CDW and resulting impacts.