The way the western society currently treats waste is hazardous and can threaten not only the public health but also (very delicate) eco systems. Annually over 87 million tonnes of plastic are being produced. Only 2 % is reintroduced into the original purpose. The rest of this plastic is downcycled, landfilled, burned or leaked into the environment. Because plastic hardly deteriorates and the production of plastic with will not decrease anytime soon these problems will increase over time.

The building industry is the biggest consumer of raw materials and has one of the biggest carbon dioxide emissions of the world, therefore the building industry should act in a responsible and responsive way. We have to change our linear economy into a circular economy and thereby change our way of working, living and designing.

Redesigning waste focuses on the implementation of the plastic waste stream into the built environment. One of the main focus points understanding plastic as a material and where the negative connotation latched on to this material is coming from and then shifting (the public’s) perception towards a more positive outlook on this alien material. By consulting relevant literature, companies who have experience in the working field and potential customers a (new) roadmap towards the topic of creating value in this undervalued materials has been created.

3D Printing is an emerging manufacturing technology that is in a research and prototyping stage in the construction industry. This research presents a governance framework for construction projects in which large scale freeform 3D printing is applied, based on empirical data of 7 case studies. The observed governance in the case studies is a combination of existing governance models for construction projects, product design and innovation. Traditional project governance was found to be invalid for 3D printed objects. For these objects a product design approach is required. Based on the best practices and challenges observed in the case studies, governance structures were designed for two types of projects: construction projects in which 3D printed components are applied, and a building in which the majority is 3D printed. Both scenario's will be competitive with traditional practice for specific projects and/or components, and are expected to be introduced in the construction industry in the medium term future (2-5 years).