Value-added recycled materials from construction and demolition waste

Introduction

The construction sector is the most resource-intensive industrial sector in the EU; it uses around 50% of the available primary raw materials and generates over 33% of the total waste generated in Europe.

Potential for Recycling

Thus, there is huge potential for the recycling of secondary raw materials from construction and demolition waste (CDW), but closing the circular economy loop is far from becoming mainstream in Europe.

Current Recycling Statistics

For the time being, according to ANPAR Italian data, only 7% of the recycled CDW is reused today to produce new concrete for structural and non-structural applications. The largest part of mineral CDW is downgraded to be used as:

1. Stabilizer for road pavements, railways, and other civil works (82%)
2. Backfilling operations (11.5%)

Project Goals

CDWCIRCLE has the ambitious goal of achieving total recycling of treated CDW thanks to a radical innovative sorting technology that allows for the separation of the inert fractions (aggregates, bricks, tiles, etc.) and will enable the production of added-value secondary raw materials to be reused in the construction sector.

Project Implementation

A new CDW recycling plant, able to treat up to 90,000 tons/year of CDW, will be designed and constructed by the partners Cavart and Binder, and installed in one of the authorized sites of Gatti Costruzioni company in the Brescia area.

Testing and Collaboration

CDWCIRCLE will test its end-products in the pilot area of Brescia (Lombardy Region) together with a pool of construction companies (Gatti, Pavoni, Prandelli), supported by the University of Brescia and the regional authority (Regione Lombardia).

Future Developments

CDWCIRCLE is proposing itself as an emblematic precedent in the national as well as European context. Following the testing phase, the partners will develop proper business models, supporting the supply chain of the new market niche and establishing an ecosystem with stakeholders active in the field.