Reward and Penalty Policies in Construction and Demolition Waste Management: A Systematic Review and Cause‐and‐Effect Diagram Analysis

ABSTRACT

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) management depends on the interaction among economic, operational, and behavioral factors, with reward and penalty policies acting as central instruments that remain comparatively underexplored from a systemic perspective for influencing generator behavior. This study conducted a systematic literature review in the Scopus and Web of Science databases (2018–2024), following the ProKnow‐C approach, from which a portfolio of 101 articles was selected from 498 initially identified records. Based on the reviewed literature, a conceptual Cause‐and‐Effect Diagram (CED) grounded in System Dynamics principles was developed, comprising eight feedback loops (five reinforcing and three balancing). The results show that the effectiveness of reward and penalty policies depends less on the isolated intensity of each instrument and more on its combination with source separation practices and the availability of adequate infrastructure, such as Voluntary Drop‐off Points, to reduce improper disposal. The contribution of this study lies in the systemic integration of these policy instruments within a single causal framework and in the identification of seven recurring practical challenges in the implementation of these policies, for which operational solutions grounded in the reviewed literature are proposed, aimed at supporting the formulation of municipal solid waste management plans.