Building and Circular Economy. Reuse of steel components in construction industry in Italy

The paper explores the transition from recycling-oriented practices to reuse-based strategies for steel construction within a circular economy framework. It presents the outcomes of the research project “ST3P+L. Building and Circular Economy. Steel from production to post-production. Law and responsibility issues” (PRIN 2022). Although Italy shows outstanding performance in steel recycling, the reuse of building components remains marginal and weakly regulated. European best practices and recent technical standards, particularly CEN/TS 19201–1, are analysed to assess their implications for the Italian context. The study proposes a structured set of reuse protocols and introduces the concept of post-production, extending circular strategies beyond structural reuse to include downgraded reuse and repurposing. A BIM-oriented Digital Product Passport (DPP) is presented as a key enabler for traceability, transparency and market confidence. Case studies from post-earthquake buildings in L’Aquila validate the framework, demonstrating the potential of steel reuse to reduce environmental impacts, resource consumption and costs while supporting circular value chains in the construction sector.