The linear consumption model has caused both environmental and health issues within cities. Communities were tasked with managing plastic pollution, but we are unsure how to implement circular strategies. CAP was developed by Jenna Jambeck and her lab at the University of Georgia (UGA)  based on a need from communities.

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CAP is a hub and spoke model that follows material through the entire lifecycle using quantitative and qualitative methods. The plastics CAP has been applied in over 14 countries and 51 cities. 

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Phase I: A Tale of Two Cities

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator gave UGA and Pitt funding to expand CAP from plastics to additional sectors: molecules, organic materials, and the built environment. In Phase I, the Pitt team has developed the Construction and Demolition (C&D) CAP framework and began applying the framework in Pittsburgh, PA and Atlanta, GA.

 

​The goal of the C&D CAP is to fill the need of communities to understand greater the material usage and waste management of construction and demolition materials at the city scale. The seven spokes of C&D CAP are C&D Analytics, Community, Building Material and Design, Operation, Collection, End-of-Cycle, and Leakage. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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Phase I C&D CAP reports:

• Atlanta

• Pittsburgh

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Phase II: SpheriCity

The Phase II award is a continuation of the work in Phase I as a part of the NSF Convergence Accelerator. Within Phase II SpheriCity will continue to apply and refine the C&D CAP framework within communities. Like the Plastics CAP, the C&D CAP aims to include community participation with local implementation partners. 

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A portal is being created where the city's data will be held and open access.  Users will be provided the option to connect with others and participating cities, enabling dialogue to further circular economy opportunities. 

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