The companies Neos Additives, Miraplas, and Saxun also participated in this circular economy research project funded by IVACE+i and the ERDF Programme.

The Institute of Ceramic Technology (ITC) and Aimplas have worked in cooperation to develop the RECERCO Project, an initiative aligned with the circular economy and focused on recovering waste generated in the ceramic tile manufacturing process, specifically so-called fired sherds. These tiles of different types, mostly composed of red clay, are treated and then used to manufacture new ceramic tiles and also as a reinforcement agent for polymeric matrices to obtain composites for the construction industry.

The studies carried out in both applications confirm that the introduction of this waste as a secondary raw material is technically feasible. It is therefore possible to use it to replace much of the clay content in tile composition in the ceramic tile manufacturing process. Furthermore, in the case of composites, it is possible to completely replace the reinforcement agents traditionally used in the plastics industry (e.g. calcium carbonate and titanium oxide) with this waste to obtain thermoplastic and thermoset composites with identical or improved properties.

Within the framework of the project, AIMPLAS developed thermoset and thermoplastic formulas with the ceramic waste to manufacture PVC-based shutter profiles and a planter and a tank with thermoset composites, which can be used for outdoor applications.

The RECERCO Project was supported by the Valencian Institute for Business Competitiveness and Innovation (IVACE+i) through the Strategic Cooperation Projects Programme co-financed by the EU through the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) Programme. The companies Neos Additives, Miraplas, and Saxun also collaborated on the project with the AIMPLAS and ITC technology centres.

The document outlines five key policy recommendations for the EU’s upcoming five-year mandate (2024–2029) that aim at enhancing recycling and fostering a thriving recycling sector that can ensure raw material autonomy, foster innovation, create jobs, and drive economic growth.

The manifesto highlights the significant potential for circularity and recycling within the C&D sector, stressing the need to stimulate the market for recycled materials and advance legislation to mandate their use. It calls for mandatory Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), improved separation of C&D waste, and the introduction of EU-wide End-of-Waste (EOW) criteria to boost the uptake of recycled materials. Additionally, it calls for balanced chemicals legislation that protects the environment and human health while facilitating recycling and avoiding excessive industry burdens.

Julia Ettinger, EuRIC’s Secretary General, stated: “Our manifesto provides a clear roadmap for policymakers to increase circularity in construction and demolition, reduce environmental degradation and resource depletion while driving economic growth and innovation within the EU. We urge policymakers to prioritise these recommendations in the upcoming legislative term.”

Read the report

Building on the promising outcomes of the pilot, Ecophon’s reuse service involves taking back used acoustic products from existing buildings, for instance in connection with reconstructions, renovations, or tenant customisations. Ecophon will subsequently pay for the additional time for a correct demounting. After a thorough screening program to assess the quality, the products are sold to customers again, as a positive option in new construction and renovation projects due to the lower impact on the climate than new materials.

“We are proud to break new ground and lead the way towards circularity. Ecophon takes responsibility as a material supplier enabling extended product lifespans through reuse and recycling – instead of ending up in landfill. By reintroducing products into the market, we also support our clients in achieving their sustainability goals. Integrating reuse fully into our business model is a logical extension of our circularity offer,” says Pierre-Emmanuel Thiard, CEO at Ecophon.

Ecophon is one of the first construction product manufacturers in Sweden with a complete business model for taking care of reused products and reselling them to the market. Ecophon glass wool acoustic panels are engineered to last long and are noted for their durability and ease of handling, making them particularly suitable for reuse. By providing a feasible alternative with reduced environmental impact compared to buying new, Ecophon is helping to meet the growing demand for reused building materials in Sweden.

“We are excited to move forward with this full-scale launch. Ecophon Reuse service is compatible with the most standard products, which are found in almost all buildings, making it easy. The positive response from the pilot confirms the market’s readiness for such solutions, and we continue our collaboration with partners and customers in Sweden to develop practical solutions for material reuse,” adds Karina Wisniewska, Service Range Manager at Ecophon.

The demand for reused and reusable materials in the building sector is both needed and rising. According to the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, the construction and property sector accounts for more than a fifth of total greenhouse gas emissions in Sweden. Furthermore, the construction sector is responsible for over 35% of the EU’s total waste generation. Reused sound absorbents can both lower the climate impact of projects and reduce landfill.

The reuse service is now fully operating in Sweden and will work alongside Ecophon’s award winning recycling service, which focuses on recycling panels that are not accepted for reuse.

As the rate of global resource extraction continues to accelerate, finite natural materials continue to deplete, and barriers to gain approval for new mineral extraction sites mount, CDE, a leading supplier of sand and aggregate washing solutions for the waste recycling and natural minerals processing sectors, is encouraging materials producers to reappraise their waste streams to get more value from their operations.

Sand and aggregates are among the most important resources for everyday life. They’re needed for the construction of the roads and pathways we travel on, the buildings we live and work in, the microchips powering our technology, and so much more. They are indispensable resources for modern living, yet they are finite and require careful resource management.

In 2020, mining and quarrying accounted for 23.4% of total waste generation in the EU, while the latest Global Resources Outlook report, published by the United Nations Environment Programme, suggests resource extraction could rise by 60% to 160 billion tonnes over the next three decades.

Uncovering Buried Profits

Mining and quarrying operations generate significant volumes of waste by-product as part of their process but within these waste streams there is opportunity, explains CDE’s Eunan Kelly, Head of Business Development for Europe.

“Overburden, scalpings, crushed rock fines or quarry dust – they’re part and parcel of the mining and quarrying process, and an inevitable by-product. But a product they are. Too often these masses are categorised as ‘waste’ or low value material when in reality they possess significant potential.”

Where overburden concerns the clay-bound top layers of soil and subsoil above bedrock that are removed as quarries and mines expand, scalpings are the contaminated stones removed during primary screening in dry processing plants, and crushed rock fines are a by-product of the dry rock crushing process, which typically produces a low-value product with very high fines content.

Eunan continues: “When processed with the right technology, most of these seemingly low-quality by-products can be marketed quite profitably. That means today there are years’ worth of reserves and billions of tonnes of value-adding materials just sitting in stockpiles throughout Europe that can both ease pressure on resource extraction while creating new or additional revenue streams. It is crucial we start to maximise the available reserves and tackle dirtier material.”

Old materials, new opportunities

The traditional approach to managing waste by-product such as overburden, scalpings, and crushed rock fines is to stockpile them on site, which is generally symptomatic of the limitations of the technology employed on site at the time.

Norwegian aggregates producer Feiring Bruk had amassed stockpiles containing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of crushed rock fines at its Lørenskog site. This material, which would generally have been deposited, is now being processed by CDE washing technology to recover valuable products, including 0-2mm fine sand, 2-4mm sand and 4-16mm aggregate. Additionally, together with its Norwegian partners Nordic Bulk, CDE recently supplied a second plant to Feiring Bruk’s Bjønndalen quarry to enable the recovery of up to 300tph of similar quarry dust material, helping the company to reduce waste and preserve natural resources in Norway while recovering valuable sand and aggregates that are in-demand in the construction industry.

CDE’s patented washing and processing allows quarry operators to transform “unwanted” by products, that may have been sent to landfill, into high-value sand and aggregate products that can be sold straight off the belt.

Longcliffe Quarries, based in the UK, had historically discarded its claybound limestone scalpings, but feasibility studies and material testing found there is a market for products recovered from this waste stream. Powered by a 220 tonnes per hour state-of-the-art CDE wet processing plant, up to six different products are being extracted from clay contaminated material, which is creating new, high-value revenue streams and helping reduce net emissions on site.

Conventional dry processing equipment has its drawbacks with quarry waste by-products, which typically have high clay and fines content, but advances in washing technologies are shown to overcome these challenges to produce high-quality sand and aggregates and maximise product yield from quarry waste.

“Reprocessing by-product stockpiles can extend the operational life of a quarry, reduce storage, transport and disposal costs, frees up valuable space on site and helps close the gap between demand and supply. This is particularly important as new permits for resource extraction are harder to come by,” Eunan adds.

“These materials are sometimes viewed as a barrier to be overcome when trying to access more desired material, or an unwanted leftover when the process is complete. We want to support materials producers to realise the full potential of their reserves and a big part of that is recognising that overburden, scalpings, and crushed rock fines also have inherent value as the success of our recent project with Swerock demonstrates.”

Recently, CDE designed and engineered such a solution to support Swerock, one of Sweden’s largest suppliers of materials and services to the construction industry, to reprocess historic quarry waste stockpiles of overburden material at its Quarry in Blentarp. Processing up to 250 tonnes of quarry waste overburden per hour, the CDE wash plant is enabling Swerock to produce six saleable sand products: 0-2mm, 2-4mm, 4-16mm, 16-32mm, 32-100mm, and +100mm.

Aimplas promotes the development of new sustainable and efficient materials for the construction industry obtained from carbon dioxide (CO2) generated by industries in the Valencian Community and waste produced by the citrus sector.

Also participating in the project are the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ, UPV-CSIC), Zuvamesa, a company specializing in producing citrus juice, Lamberti Iberia, a producer of chemical products, and Laurentia Technologies, which specializes in the synthesis and manufacture of nanomaterials.

The aim of the project is to contribute new, sustainable formulations using CO2 and waste from the citrus industry in Valencia to make materials for the construction industry.

This research project has received economic funding from the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI) and the European Union within the framework of the Valencian Community ERDF Programme for the 2021-2027 period.
The aim of the BUILD-LIMONENE initiative is to develop new additives and biodegradable materials with a lower carbon footprint that can be used in the construction industry and become viable alternatives to the materials currently available in the market. Some of the most in-demand applications are sustainable polymers, additives, and coatings.

This new technology will contribute to the recovery of waste from different industrial sectors that all play an important role in the Valencian Community, such as food waste, especially citrus waste. BUILD-LIMONENE will make it possible to use citrus peels and generated CO2 emissions and apply them in the construction industry.

This project presents an additional advantage over traditional markets of additives and coatings for construction materials. Currently, most materials are obtained from raw materials of fossil origin and there are practically no sustainable alternatives.

Based on this goal, the processes of producing polycarbonates and polyurethanes based on or synthesized from CO2 are being studied to open a new field of innovation that promotes the development of new construction materials with fewer negative effects.

The project is currently in the experimentation stage. The catalytic reaction of limonene oxide and CO2 is being optimized so that polycarbonates with specific characteristics can be obtained. It has also been possible to identify the different varieties of oranges and mandarins with the highest limonene content. Limonene is a natural chemical substance that can be extracted from citrus peels and is a fundamental ingredient in these formulations.

Within the framework of this project, Aimplas is working on studying and optimizing the processes necessary for combining limonene oxide with CO2 in order to obtain sustainable polymers, while Zuvamesa is in charge of the first step in the chain, the extraction of purified limonene from different Valencia oranges.

The Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ, UPV, CSIC) is studying the epoxidation reaction of limonene with samples of Valencian oranges and mandarins of different types and sizes. This is done using sustainable catalysts prepared by Laurentia Technologies. Finally, Lamberti Iberia, the company in the additive chemical sector, validates and formulates sustainable materials for the construction industry.

This initiative is aligned with the conclusions on circular economy of the Strategic Committee of Specialized Innovation (CIEI), which includes the development of materials that include CO2 and food waste applied in the construction industry to reduce its carbon footprint. BUILD-LIMONENE is also aligned with the main concepts of Strategy of Intelligent Specialization (S3) of the Valencian Community, which is coordinated with the Council of Innovation, Industry, Commerce, and Tourism.

Now, in new research that could revolutionise the way construction waste materials are processed and recycled, they used the images to train deep learning (DL) and artificial intelligence (AI) to recognise a vast array of materials and particles in mixed waste that comes from construction sites.

Led by Monash PhD candidate Diani Sirimewan, from the Automation and Sustainability in Construction and Intelligent Infrastructure (ASCII) Lab in Civil Engineering, the study paves the way for the use of advanced robotics and automation for construction waste processing, which currently relies on workers to manually pick through dangerous and potentially contaminated waste.

The computer-based system can identify and categorise recyclable materials more accurately and efficiently than human workers and is even capable of detecting contaminants, which can pose risks to the community and the environment, as seen in the investigation into asbestos-contaminated garden mulch found recently in Sydney parklands.

While many of the materials such as timber and glass are potentially recyclable, sorting debris from demolition and construction sites is complex and challenging, and significant advances have been limited to domestic waste that cannot distinguish between multiple cluttered waste items. Ms Sirimewan believes her research is the first to capture detailed images of dense CRD waste inside bins on construction sites, enabling her to build significantly advanced recognition and detection models capable of recognising waste that is almost completely buried among other rubbish and tiny contaminant particles.

Ms Sirimewan is working closely with colleagues who are trialling the technology using simulation with robotic arms and hopes it will spur investment in robotics R&D and automation to improve the efficiency of construction waste processing and recycling in Australia.

“Our deep learning models showed the remarkable ability to recognise the composition of construction and demolition waste streams, including the identification of contaminants,” Ms Sirimewan said.

“It’s exciting. The technology could significantly reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills through better-quality recycling — benefiting the environment and reducing the need for workers to be exposed to dangerous and toxic materials.”

“We are continually refining our models for application in new robotic technologies and working closely with colleagues who are trialling it through the simulation of robotic arms.”

Ms Sirimewan said Australia urgently needs construction waste recycling plants.

“With the volume of landfill from construction waste expected to balloon, its effective management is a growing problem,” Ms Sirimewan said.

“Investment in the entire construction waste management ecosystem supports a circular economy, job creation, manufacturing opportunities and market development opportunities for recycled products.”

Head of the ASCII Lab, Associate Professor Mehrdad Arashpour, said it is in the national interest to support the innovation of much-needed solutions to the growing waste management problem.

“Every time we demolish or renovate a building or construct something new, a huge amount of waste material is generated,” Associate Professor Arashpour said.

“Currently, most of these materials go to waste and end up in landfill, which has significant environmental impacts, not to mention the loss of potentially reusable resources and economic costs.”

The research was published in the Journal of Environmental Management.

The technology to utilise carbon fibre textiles already exists, but it has been challenging, among other things, to produce a basis for reliable calculations for complex and vaulted structures. Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, are now presenting a method that makes it easier to scale up analyses and thus facilitate the construction of more environmentally friendly bridges, tunnels, and buildings.

“A great deal of the concrete we use today has the function to act as a protective layer to prevent the steel reinforcement from corroding. If we can use textile reinforcement instead, we can reduce cement consumption and also use less concrete − and thus reduce the climate impact,” says Karin Lundgren, who is Professor in Concrete Structures at the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at Chalmers.

Cement is a binder in concrete, and its production from limestone has a large impact on the climate. One of the problems is that large amounts of carbon dioxide that have been sequestered in the limestone are released during production. Every year, about 4.5 billion tonnes of cement are produced in the world, and the cement industry accounts for about 8 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Intensive work is therefore underway to find alternative methods and materials for concrete structures.

Reduced carbon footprint with thinner constructions and alternative binders

By using alternative binders instead of cement, such as clay or volcanic ash, it is possible to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions. But so far, it is unclear how well such new binders can protect steel reinforcement in the long term.

“You could get away from the issue of corrosion protection, by using carbon-fibres as reinforcement material instead of steel because it doesn’t need to be protected in the same way. You can also gain even more by optimising thin shell structures with a lower climate impact,” says Karin Lundgren.

In a recently published study in the journal Construction and Building Materials, Karin Lundgren and her colleagues describe a new modelling technique that was proved to be reliable in analyses describing how textile reinforcement interacts with concrete.

“What we have done is to develop a method that facilitates the calculation work of complex structures and reduces the need for testing of the load-bearing capacity,” says Karin Lundgren.

One area where textile reinforcement technology could significantly reduce the environmental impact is in the construction of arched floors. Since the majority of a building’s climate impact during production comes from the floor structures, it is an effective way to build more sustainably. A previous research study from the University of Cambridge shows that textile reinforcement can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 65 percent compared to traditional solid floors.

Method that facilitates calculations

A textile reinforcement mesh consists of yarns, where each yarn consists of thousands of thin filaments (long continuous fibres). The reinforcement mesh is cast into concrete, and when the textile-reinforced concrete is loaded, the filaments slip both against the concrete and against each other inside the yarn. A textile yarn in concrete does not behave as a unit, which is important when you want to understand the composite material’s ability to carry loads. The modelling technique developed by the Chalmers researchers describes these effects.

“You could describe it as the yarn consisting of an inner and an outer core, which is affected to varying degrees when the concrete is loaded. We developed a test and calculation method that describes this interaction. In experiments, we were able to show that our way of calculating is reliable enough even for complex structures,” says Karin Lundgren.

The work together with colleagues is now continuing to develop optimisation methods for larger structures.

“Given that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) expects the total floor area in the world to double over the next 40 years due to increased prosperity and population growth, we must do everything we can to build as resource-efficiently as possible to meet the climate challenge,” says Karin Lundgren.

The Vermeer LS3600TX is specifically designed to excel at processing various materials, including light construction and demolition waste, wood waste with contaminants, and municipal solid waste. It is well-suited for waste facilities and land clearing operations, as well as compost, mulch, and biofuel producers.

Vermeer has designed the LS3600TX shredder with a focus on maintenance and accessibility. The engine bay of the LS3600TX prioritizes ease of maintenance and serviceability, featuring large access doors, multiple ladder points and a spacious service platform. This design allows for quick and efficient maintenance. Additionally, the LS3600TX is equipped with a hydraulically operated access system that provides full exposure to the rotor, comb, and belly conveyor, further streamlining maintenance procedures. Moreover, the belly conveyor can be easily removed without detaching the discharge conveyor, minimizing the invasiveness of service operations.

The LS3600TX shredder has a 456-hp (340 kW) CAT Tier 4 Final/Stage V engine. It operates at a sound level of only 111.9 dB(A). The shredder features a tracked undercarriage, which enables operators to reposition and manoeuvre it around a job site. It also comes with a full-function remote control, allowing operators to adjust the feed, access machine data, and diagnose fault codes from the comfort of the feed loader’s cab or a safe distance from the shredder.

The LS3600TX is equipped with a 10 ft (ca. 3 m) long rotor featuring wear-resistant plates for enhanced durability and dual-bolt tips to help maintain clamp load. It utilizes individual bolt-in comb teeth, each with two usable edges, which extends their lifespan. The shredder is built with a fully mechanical driveline designed to optimize horsepower transfer to the rotor. To safeguard the driveline system against unshreddable objects, the LS3600TX includes a reversible mechanical transmission with an external torque limiter that will automatically disengage the drive when maximum torque is reached.

Vermeer offers an optional cross band magnet for the LS3600TX to further enhance its capabilities. This magnet effectively reduces steel contaminants from the end material, minimizing contamination in the final product.

During the Branch meeting held on 19 October in Brussels, the ECDB members unanimously elected Pär Larshans, Sustainability Director at Ragn-Sells (SRI, Sweden) as ECDB President, accompanied by two Vice-Presidents, Giorgio Bressi, the Technical Director of ANPAR (Italy) and Christoph Althammer, Executive at Althammer Bau GmbH (BVSE, Germany). They also green-lighted Josef Aschl, Executive at SWIETELSKY Umwelt Technik GmbH (BVSE, Germany) and Hans Boer, Manager Mineraal at Attero (DWMA, the Netherlands), as the ECDB’s Executive Committee members.

Pär Larshans, ECDB President said: ”I am deeply honored to assume the leadership of our recently established construction and demolition branch, where our mission is to enable our industry to champion the transformation of what is currently discarded into valuable resources, fostering a positive environmental footprint.”

Norwegian materials producer Fana Stein & Gjenvinning (FSG) has revealed plans for a new waste recycling plant for construction, demolition, and excavation (CD&E) waste. The plant is designed and engineered by wet processing experts CDE, as it reinforces its commitment to a circular economy.

Delivered in partnership with Nordic Bulk, CDE’s in-country partner, the new wash plant will be used to process a wide range of incoming construction and demolition waste material as well as contaminated soil from road works and excavation at building sites throughout Bergen and the wider Vestland county.

FSG was established in 1954 and then specialised in the refinement of crushed rocks, operating a former pit on the site of the now multi-use Fana Stadium in Rådal, south of Bergen. As rock resources in the area depleted, the company transitioned to underground mining of bedrocks inside the Stendafjellet mountain, in Rådalen.

The company’s operations in Stendafjellet are divided into two primary functions: extracting and producing a variety of crushed stone products, alongside the management of a licensed landfill for contaminated CD&E masses.

FSG has a licence for the disposal of contaminated material in 18 mountain halls in Stendafjellet with total void capacity exceeding 4.5 million m³. Every year, it facilitates the safe disposal of an estimated 200-250,000 tonnes of contaminated CD&E waste.

The solution designed by CDE will also incorporate the flexibility needed to allow FSG to adapt its production in line with the demands of the construction market, enabling the company to transition with ease between a variety of product grades from an expanded range of sand and aggregate outputs.

Construction of the new wash plant commences this autumn and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.

Accounting for 10% of the total value added in the EU economy, the construction sector drives economic growth, employing around 25 million people and representing some 5 million companies, mostly SMEs. However, it is also one of the most resource intensive sectors, generating 30% of the EU’s annual waste and 9.4% of its total carbon footprint, according to the European Commission. For European recyclers, it is a key sector for achieving the EU’s climate neutrality objective, and it requires a more sustainable use of construction materials, which cannot be achieved without increased recycling.

“The Construction and Demolition branch is the seventh branch of EuRIC. It is launched at a time where construction and demolition waste as a stream is under intense scrutiny by policy-makers at EU and Member State level. EuRIC looks forward to working with all concerned stakeholders to boost circularity across the sector” stressed Emmanuel Katrakis, Secretary General of EuRIC. Therefore, the branch will advocate for the full application of circular economy principles in the construction sector by incentivizing the use of circular construction materials and levelling the playing field with extracted raw materials. In addition, advocacy will be focusing on the setting up of a proper EU regulatory framework that boosts the use of C&D waste in the construction sector and beyond, green procurement, standardization that supports the use of circular materials and products, comprehensive end-of-waste criteria or mandatory recycled content in construction products.

In 1961 Büscher made concrete like everybody else; from gravel, sand, cement and water. Today they have changed the recipe to 100% construction and demolition (C&D) waste to replace the sand and gravel completely and produce prefab load-bearing and non-load-bearing interior wall elements. The outside walls are not made out of recycled materials.

Due to their container service the company Büscher received a lot of C&D waste which they normally recycled into aggregates for road construction. As this material was difficult to sell and available in high stock quantities the brothers Wolfgang & Hans-Jürgen Büscher started to look how this material could be re-used and came to the idea to use it as raw material for prefab concrete and concrete elements.

It was hard convincing specialists in the field and authorities this could be the future. Getting 100% prefab concrete certified was difficult, and took them 8 years of Research and Development to approval as most people didn’t believe it was possible. “Concrete specialists, laboratories and certification specialists were very doubtful this could be done. They all said it is impossible and not legal”, says Wolfgang Büscher.

Company Büscher asked researchers from laboratories and universities to scientifically prove what the material is capable of, and what it’s not. They gave the parameters on what they wanted to achieve with the material and let them research if it stands the tests.

“By now all scientific research has been done and it shows exactly what is possible with the 100% recycled prefab concrete and concrete elements. The new material functions perfect and the recipe has changed at Büscher” says Hans-Jürgen Büscher.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Breit of the Technical University Kaiserslautern concludes: “the quality is good because the company Büscher took the right measures from the acceptance of the Construction and Demolition waste, the processing of the material and the use in the prefab concrete and concrete elements”.

The main advantage of this certified production process is the efficiency in resources. They are using local highly available cheap C&D material and produce a sustainable, climate neutral product with less CO2 emission, saving as well on transport costs as the material at hand can be used. “No costly raw materials are used so the price of the end products is also cheaper, a real win/win situation” says Thomas Overbeeke, Operations Manager of Büscher.

It took them 8 years of scientific proving you can sustainable build a house from fully recycled material, even at lower costs. But it took them only 4 months to build the complete 3-family house, build with paint-ready prefab elements. Piping and electricity are all integrated in the prefab panels which have a smooth surface so you do not need any plaster. Now the first house is build out of 100% recycled natural mineral substitutes in the load-bearing and non-load-bearing interior wall elements. And when it is time to demolish it, it will be recycled into new concrete using the Büscher method. A true circular economy in perfection!

Büscher is minimizing the ecological footprint and is looking to close the material cycle for the circular economy. This is also the reason their factory and recycling site is powered by solar panels. The choice to use Keestrack crushing and screening equipment is also driven by this idea. Oppermann & Fuss, Keestrack dealer in Germany have advised Büscher which ZERO equipment was the best fit for their applications and capacity. Also choosing the right options is essential in this specific application.

Obviously a sustainable product should be produced with sustainable production equipment. As the Büscher site is equipped with solar panels delivering up to 323 kW/h of renewable electricity it is used to power the concrete factory but also to the Keestrack R3e ZERO impact crusher and the K4e ZERO screen. Both Keestrack machines are fully electric powered by renewable energy and do not have a combustion engine onboard.

As the electric motors drive most of the mobile crushing and screening equipment and power some necessary hydraulics systems both Keestrack machines run with ZERO CO2 emission . Keestrack is known being an innovator and early adopter for electric e-driven equipment. The majority of the Keestrack product range is available in ZERO-drive.

When plugged in to the grid, like at the Büscher recycling site, where they use renewable energy using photovoltaic solar panels, the R3 and K4 are producing at zero carbon emission. The energy cost will be approximately 152kWh. Operational and maintenance cost will decrease drastically as there is no engine on board to maintain.

The technology, its safety features and the design of the R3 impact crusher has won several European design prices, one of them being the Red Dot award. The very compact and easy to transport impact crusher available in; diesel/hydraulic drive , electric plug-in drive (with onboard backup diesel gen-set) and ZERO drive: full electric plug-in without gen-set backup, has a capacity up to 250t/h.

The Büscher company choose the ZERO versions to minimize the environmental impact as it runs at zero carbon footprint, powered by their own solar energy.

The R3e ZERO is equipped with a vibrating feeder with a pre-screen of 1.200mm x 920mm to optimize crushing results and to minimize wear, an inlet opening of 770mm x 960mm (HxW) and a rotor diameter of 1.100mm and a rotor width of 920mm. The crusher equipped in closed circuit with recirculation conveyor and a precession screen of 3.100mm x 1.400mm produces a defined aggregate product size. The installed wind sifter eliminates contaminations of plastics, wood or paper and the overband magnet separates the metals. The R3e ZERO weighs 32t, and its plug-out of 125A, powers the connected K4e ZERO of 28t.

The K4e ZERO, has a high productivity with a capacity up to 350t/h. The double deck screen box of 4.200mm x 1.500mm, standard heavy duty plate apron feeder and hydraulic adjustable screen angle gives it very good screening capabilities. The numerous available options and screen decks make the K4 suitable for each job. At the recycling site of Büscher they choose to have the fine and middle fraction conveyor at the same side of the screen to improve the accessibility for the wheel loader.

Each Keestrack is designed to have good service access to minimize maintenance and repair times but at the Keestrack ZERO-range there are no engines on-board meaning maintenance is strongly reduced.

Both Keestrack machines at Büscher are equipped with remote controls to operate the crusher and screen from the excavator. They both have an integrated water spray system which can be used in case the production is too dusty. Also both are equipped with a Keestrack-er UMTS system. This telematics software system provides real-time data and analytics. The system enables you to check the location of the machines and if they are working correctly. All aspects of a machine can be checked and if necessary, remote updates to the software can be made. It is possible to run diagnostic tests for all components including the feeder, screen, crusher and conveyors. The Keestrack-er also functions well for maintenance planning by Oppermann & Fuss, helping to keep machines in optimum shape.

Cone crushers are mainly used in hard stone, impact crushers in soft to medium-hard stone and in recycling. A very high product quality is expected from both plant types. Thanks to the new optional double-deck post screening unit, it is now also possible, with a single machine – without the use of an additional screening plant – to produce two classified final grain sizes.

High application diversity and flexibility

The large screening surface makes effective screening possible especially for grain sizes below 7/8”. The discharge height of the fine grain conveyor is designed for a maximum stockpile volume. Oversize grain can be processed in a closed material circuit via a return conveyor. As an option, the conveyor can be swivelled hydraulically by up to 100°, which also makes side discharge possible. A kidney-shaped stockpile can thus be created manually.

If an application is only to produce one classified final grain size, the post screening unit can simply be used as a single-deck version.

Wind sifters for effective cleaning

As the Mobirex MR 110(i) Evo 2 is frequently used in recycling applications, wind sifters are used here as an option. They provide better material quality because lightweight material (e.g. wood and plastic) contamination is removed from the material. The air flow can be controlled precisely depending on the material, reducing manual sorting work. The wind sifter can only be used in conjunction with the post screening unit. With the double-deck post screening unit, a second wind sifter can be used as an option for cleaning the medium grain.

The facilities at IMEE include a recycling plant, a treatment plant, a transfer center and an inert waste dump. The material from construction works first comes into the delivery area, from where it goes to the separation warehouse where large recyclables such as plastics, cardboard, iron, and wood are removed. The remaining inert waste is then passed through to the triage cabin, from where soil and aggregates are passed on to a conveyor belt, which directs it to a mill where it is converted into recycled materials for use in the construction of buildings and roads.

New Excavator Has Brought Versatility and Productivity

Nacho Llácer, Managing Director of IMEE, said: “We are growing between 20-30% every year, so we needed a new excavator to work in our facilities and Doosan proved to be the best for the size of excavator to meet our needs, with a lower fuel consumption and a quality design. We need to load, unload, excavate and transport stockpiles to the crusher to recycle, collect the waste that arrives at our facilities (with an average of 140 trucks per day and about 2000 tonne of material per day) and carry out various jobs on the plant.

“Our operators are very happy with the new excavator – they appreciate the ease of operation and the additional comfort that comes from a new machine. The visibility, the cab and the safety are outstanding elements, as well as the robustness.”

The 40.2 ton DX380LC-7 model offers greater productivity, high performance and lower fuel consumption thanks to D-Ecopower technology. All this in an efficient and very comfortable work environment, with comfortable intuitive controls, a 360° camera system, large side mirrors, powerful work lights, and non-slip steps, platforms and safety rails on the upper structure.

5 Wheeled Excavator for Sorting Materials

IMEE also has a Doosan DX170W-5 wheeled excavator, which replaced a machine from another brand several years ago. This model features the well regarded DL06P engine, one of the most reliable 6-cylinder engines designed by Doosan, with EGR and SCR emission treatment technologies without DPF, a spacious cab and a fully automatic climate control system.

Nacho Llácer continued: “The DX170W-5 is ideal for its size and power. We equip it with a clamp to sort and separate various materials into groups. In addition to handling work in the waste area, the Doosan DX170W-5 excavator literally rips the plastic out of the big bags, separating the content from the container, which allows us to quickly and conveniently divide and select materials and soil or rubble. It also transports and stacks the containers we use.

“The different types of components used in construction generate waste that must be classified for later recovery, identifying what can be recovered for reuse. Thanks to the sorting process, we manage to recover 95% of the waste products for subsequent recycling. The lack of adequate centers like ours for construction waste creates a serious problem for our environment and is currently a huge setback.”

Nacho Llácer added: “The qualities of machines today are intrinsic, such as new technologies, rear view cameras and ergonomic seats, however, I personally highly value the role of a good salesperson who not only sells a machine, but also advises you and helps you with decision-making when selecting the best products for your projects, including post sales, which is also extremely important. There are sellers who are simple order takers, who leave a catalogue on the table, but are not even experts in their product. Selling is not offering; selling is talking, listening to the needs and offering solutions to the client. A person who only distributes flyers will hardly know how to solve a problem when you have it. Therefore, it is vital for me that the manufacturers train their teams properly and prioritize the training centers.

“Undoubtedly, the staff at Ximo Magallo & CIA., the official Doosan distributor in our area, with the support of Centrocar, meet these requirements. Their team is really efficient in this sense, and they also offer a very good technical service and are fast. They solve all my problems, which strengthens my confidence in them.”

Ximo Magallo & CIA. has more than 45 years of experience in public works, with highly qualified and professional personnel who are well established in Valencia.

A European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published today, investigates how circular economy principles can enhance the benefits of building renovation. It finds that, through 2050, circularity can significantly reduce the use of materials and contribute significant additional reductions in the CO2 emissions embedded in Europe’s buildings.

Buildings consume a lot of material resources and energy, and therefore play an important role in Europe’s environment and climate policy. Embedded emissions, which account for emissions released from the extraction of natural resources and their processing to building materials, make up almost a quarter of the life cycle emissions of the current EU building stock.

The EEA briefing ‘Building renovation: where circular economy and climate meet’ analyses the benefits of using circular economy principles in Europe’s renovation wave, which means keeping materials and products in use as long as possible and efficiently reusing or recycling all waste.

According to the EEA briefing, avoiding the use of new building materials holds a great potential for climate change mitigation. The most effective circular renovation actions to save CO2 emissions and material use include extending the lifespan of existing buildings, for example through repairs and retrofitting instead of demolishing, and using buildings more efficiently, for example by making spaces multifunctional. These actions would reduce demand for new construction, which requires much more materials than renovations.

Moreover, ambitious circular renovation strategies, such as using materials that are recycled or designed for disassembly, could cumulatively reduce approximatively 650 million tonnes of materials and save substantial amounts of CO2 from 2022 to 2050, if the strategies are implemented through renovating the EU building stock.

The European Commission is currently developing an EU Roadmap for the reduction of whole life carbon of buildings. Life cycle emissions are also addressed in proposals to revise the Construction Products Regulation and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Access to important raw materials that the EU requires for its triple digital, energy and circular economy transition is becoming increasingly uncertain. Added to this, changes in the geopolitical situation, as the war in Ukraine highlights by drawing attention to, for example, the fact that Ukraine/Russia are sitting on 40% of the world supply of palladium, can cause sudden disruptions to the supply chain. Extracting more of these materials from waste streams that are rich in them, and predicting future demand, will help to mitigate the risks associated with this uncertainty and reduce reliance on other countries for their supply.

Futuram, funded through the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, will develop the Secondary Raw Materials knowledge base on the availability and recoverability of secondary raw materials (SRMs) within the European Union (EU), with a special focus on critical raw materials (CRMs). The project research will enable fact-based decision making for the recovery and use of SRMs within and outside the EU, and disseminate the data generated via an accessible knowledge base developed in the project.

Access to raw materials drives the economy. It thus determines the competitive position of industry, and society’s ability to transition toward a decarbonised world. Some raw materials, such as palladium, lithium, or cobalt, are deemed ‘critical’ because they are economically and strategically important for the economy but have a high-risk associated with their supply.

Pascal Leroy, Director General of the WEEE Forum, the organisation leading Futuram said, “In many instances, CRM primary extraction is limited to a few locations outside of Europe, and there are no viable substitutes for these materials with current technologies. The effective management of raw material supply and demand requires reliable, coherent, and complete information and strategic foresight on SRMs and that is what the project will provide.”

Futuram will establish a methodology, reporting structure, and guidance to improve the raw materials knowledge base up to 2050. It will integrate SRM and CRM data to model their current stocks and flows, and consider economic, technological, geopolitical, regulatory, social and environmental factors to further develop, demonstrate and align SRM recovery projects with the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC), a tool that enables a better understanding of the viability of raw material projects. This will enable the commercial exploitation of SRMs and CRMs by manufacturers, recyclers, and investors, and the knowledge base developed in the project will support policy makers and governmental authorities.

Futuram will focus on six waste streams: batteries; electrical and electronic equipment; vehicles; mining; slags and ashes; and construction and demolition. These waste streams represent an important source of CRMs. For instance, in the manufacture of current electrical and electronic equipment, vehicles and batteries, 60% of global demand for gallium comes from optoelectronics and integrated circuits, 56% of indium from flat panel displays, 36% of tantalum from capacitors, 46% of cobalt, 32% of lithium and 8% of nickel from batteries, and 30% of rare earth elements from magnets.

Kees Balde, Senior Scientific Specialist at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), which is the scientific coordinator for Futuram said, “CRM demand is expected to significantly increase in the transition towards a low carbon society. For instance, technologies for future vehicles will rely on Li-ion batteries, fuel cells, and electric traction motors, and electricity generation will rely on more wind energy and photovoltaic technologies. Waste from mining, construction and demolition activities are hugely significant as they generate by far the largest post-production and post-consumption flows of SRM.”

This ambitious project will be delivered by a consortium of 28 outstanding partners from 11 countries across Europe. Leading universities and research institutes will combine their expertise with industry and industry associations to implement Futuram. Working closely with the European Commission and other relevant policy makers, the project will last for four years.

As the demand for raw materials is growing and the depletion of natural resources is on the rise, advanced waste recovery facilities and recycling plants are becoming the focus of attention. Stadler is seeing a rise in the demand of waste sorting plants capable of producing high-quality materials that can be recycled to partially replace raw natural resources in the production cycle of construction materials.

The construction industry is by far the biggest generator of waste in the European Union – about 870 million tons in 2017 – which accounts for 30% to 40% of the total waste generation in industrialized countries. In spite of the high volumes of generated CDW, its recycling rates vary enormously in different countries around the world: while countries including the Netherlands, Ireland and Hungary reported recovery rates of 99% to 100% in 2017-2018, the figures for other nations ranged from 0% to 69%. In all cases most of the recovered materials are downcycled – mainly used for backfilling in road construction, building foundations or embankments – or sent to landfill. This means that the recovered materials do not replace or significantly reduce the use of raw materials in the production process, hindering an effective circular economy.

CDW: a high recycling potential

“This represents a huge untapped potential,” says Dr. Juan Carlos Hernández Parrodi, Senior Project Manager, Research & Development at Stadler. “Typically, CDW is made up of concrete, wood, metals, glass, masonry rubble, stones, soil, sand, gypsum, plasterboard, asphalt, plastics, insulation, paper, cardboard and salvaged building components. There is very little that can’t be recycled – the recycling potential of this waste can be higher than 90%.”

Recovered materials from CDW can be recycled in a variety of applications. For example, today less than 5% of recovered aggregates are used in the production of new concrete. However, recovered aggregates are said to be suitable for the substitution of 10% to 20% of virgin aggregates for many concrete applications, which range from pipe bedding to concrete and block construction. “In fact, some previous studies have pointed out that, if appropriately processed to remove moisture and impurities, recovered aggregates can even have advantages over raw materials in some cases, such as higher compressive strength and a wider range of applications in the construction industry,” explains Hernández Parrodi.”

The demand for advanced recovery plants is set to increase fast

The effective management of CDW is becoming an increasingly urgent issue. As natural resources are depleted and the demand from the construction industry continues to grow, recycling CDW to replace raw materials is fast turning into a necessity: “Even if we were to recycle 100% of the generated CDW, we would not be able to meet the current demand of construction materials” says Hernández Parrodi.

Awareness among governments, environmental organizations, educational institutions and the general public is growing. The gradual implementation of ordinances and directives in the EU and around the world is diverting increasingly significant amounts of CDW from landfill towards recycling and material recovery plants.

“This evolution is accelerating,” says Hernández Parrodi. “Legislation regulating the amounts of CDW that can be disposed of in landfill is increasingly restrictive and aims to promote the recovery of secondary materials and recycling. At the same time, new regulations are setting high standards for recycled construction materials, encouraging a shift from downcycling to recycling and upcycling. All these factors are driving a fast growth in the demand for technology innovation and facilities capable of recovering high-quality materials from CDW.”

The development of the CDW recycling industry: towards a circular economy

The effective sorting of CDW is key to achieving the high quality levels required for successful recycling and upcycling in a broad range of construction applications. The composition of this type of waste and the requirements for the targeted output fractions varies significantly from country to country, and sometimes even at regional level. “Similarly to other waste streams, such as municipal solid waste or packaging waste, there is no standard recipe for processing CDW,” explains Hernández Parrodi.

Stadler is able to bring its extensive experience in the design of advanced sorting plants to the construction sector, developing tailored solutions to match the individual situations: “The consideration of all the specific factors, together with our know-how, enables us to provide effective, efficient and high-quality sorting facilities. Since we produce and assemble most of our equipment ourselves, we can be very agile in project planning, development and execution. Also, we employ the latest sorting equipment available in the market, such as sensor-based and robotic sorting systems.”

CDW sorting processes need to be flexible, robust and capable of handling high throughputs with considerable fluctuations. Stadler’s machines perfectly fit the bill. They are conceived to process large amounts of mixtures of diverse materials in very challenging conditions, such as presence of fines and humidity, as well as heavy and bulky objects. For example, the Stadler ballistic separator STT6000, chain conveyor belt and trommel screen are heavy-duty machines that can withstand the wear and tear associated with processing and recycling CDW, while delivering effective and efficient sorting – and they have a long service life.

Stadler has successfully applied its waste sorting know-how in a number of CDW projects – the most recent ones for Sogetri in Switzerland and Remeo Oy in Finland. The latter is a pioneering facility that combines a CDW plant capable of processing 30 t/h and a C&I plant with 15 t/h capacity, featuring state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology from partner ZenRobotics, cutting-edge processes and a high level of automation. Mauri Lielahti, Business Director, Processing at Remeo was impressed with Stadler’s tailored approach to the project and ingenuity: “We appreciated Stadler’s capability to be innovative, their willingness to seek new solutions and that they were ready to listen to the customer’s needs.”

Stadler’s sorting plants enable the separation of CDW into different fractions, which can have a broad range of applications. They can substitute raw construction materials such as sand, gravel, metal, wood and many more. Recovered concrete can be used to produce recycled concrete. Recovered fractions from CDW can also be utilized to innovate and produce new materials, such as inorganic polymers and glass-ceramics. “This means that with recovery not only is it possible to close the loop in material life cycles and move towards a circular economy,” concludes Hernández Parrodi, “but it also enables upcycling, consequently expanding the applications and increasing the added value of recovered materials.”

With the arrival of the new DX380DM-7 model, Doosan has completed the company’s range of new High Reach Demolition Excavators.

The DX380DM-7 has joined the existing DX235DM-5 and DX530DM-5 demolition models launched in the last two years.

These are complemented by the company’s new range of Material Handler models and together both ranges cover the majority of applications in the demolition, waste and recycling industry. The new Material Handler range now offers three models – the wheeled DX230WMH-5 and DX250WMH-5 and the tracked DX225MH-5 model.

In all of Doosan’s demolition excavators, the operator is housed in a high visibility, tiltable cab, providing an excellent environment particularly suited to high reach demolition applications, with a 30 degree tilting angle.

All three machines in the High Reach range provide increased flexibility with a modular boom design and hydraulic lock mechanism. This innovative design facilitates an easy change between a demolition boom and an earthmoving boom to accomplish different types of work on the same project, using the same machine. The multi-boom design also allows the earthmoving boom to be mounted in two different ways, which with the demolition boom, provides further flexibility with a total of three different configurations for the same base machine.

A special stand is provided to facilitate the boom changing operation, which is based on quick-change hydraulic and mechanical coupler connections. A cylinder-based system is used to push the locking pins into place to help complete the procedure.

When equipped with the demolition boom, the maximum pin height is 18, 23 and 27.5 m on the DX235DM-5, DX380DM-7 and DX530DM-5, respectively.

When equipped with the digging boom in the straight configuration, the DX235DM-5, DX380DM-7 and DX530DM-5 can work to maximum heights of 9.0, 10.43 and 13.5 m, respectively.

All three models share a hydraulically adjustable undercarriage, which extends to a maximum width to provide optimum stability when working on demolition sites. The width of the undercarriage can be retracted hydraulically to a narrow width position, for transporting the machines. The adjusting mechanism is based on a permanently lubricated, internal cylinder design which minimises resistance during the movement and helps to prevent damage to the components.

On all the Doosan demolition excavators, standard safety features include a FOGS cabin guard, safety valves for the boom, intermediate boom and arm cylinders and a stability warning system.

Doosan is now offering a choice of three different material handler models. The 23 tonne DX230WMH-5 and DX250WMH-5 25 tonne wheeled machines are based on Doosan’s popular DX210W-5 wheeled excavator. The new DX225MH-5 25 tonne crawler model is based on Doosan’s successful DX225LC-5 22 tonne excavator – the crawler type undercarriage is particularly suited for work in difficult ground conditions.

All three models have been designed specifically for a wide range of material sorting and handling applications such as those in the scrap metal and other solid waste and recycling industries, as well as demolition, forestry and logging.

Designed to carry out the toughest tasks, the DX230WMH-5 and DX250WMH-5 are built with front and rear stabilizers, and a boom and arm specifically designed for material handling tasks. A standard feature is the hydraulic cab riser, which gives the operator better all-around visibility of the attachment and work area. When combined with the rear view camera display in the cab, the operator has excellent visibility of the job site.

The maximum pin heights on the DX230WMH-5 and DX250WMH-5 are 11.7 m and 12.0 m, the maximum operating reaches are 10.1 m and 10.7 m and the maximum working depths are 4.2 m and 4.7 m, respectively.

The DX225MH-5 is equipped with factory-fitted material handling features such as a 2.5 m elevating cab, a 6.5 m straight boom and a 4.5 m droop nose arm, a counterweight, grapple-ready hydraulics and additional guarding. The maximum pin height in the DX225MH-5 is 11.7 m, the maximum operating reach is 10.6 m and the maximum working depth is 5.2 m. The DX225MH-5 has two arm cylinders for extra balance and more stability and lesser movement when using attachments such as grapples.

The DX230WMH-5 and DX250WMH-5 are powered by the 6-cylinder, turbocharged Doosan DL06PA water-cooled diesel engine, providing an output of 129.4 kW (173.5 HP). The new DX225MH-5 material handler is powered by the 6-cylinder, turbocharged Doosan DL06K water-cooled diesel engine, providing an output of 124 kW (166 HP).

An optional generator is available as a turnkey solution without requiring additional modification. For added durability, an optional V-guard protects the machine sides and components behind the doors.

This includes releasing whole-life carbon assessments to the general public and updating design standards.

There are many more things the construction industry can do to reduce its carbon footprint, including reusing and recycling building materials. As well as being environmentally conscious, research shows that this can reduce costs and improve a company’s credibility. So, think outside of the box and focus on sustainable waste management.

This article will explore some of the building materials you can reuse and recycle. Whether you’re managing a sustainable project or building your own home, these materials will leave you with a clear conscience and the world with a cleaner atmosphere.

Plasterboard

The war on plastics is a continuous effort. Over 380 million tonnes of plastic is thrown away every year, and only 9% is recycled adequately. To battle this, the construction industry can recycle and reuse its plastic waste. This includes plasterboard (or drywall), which is found in walls and floors.

As walls are an integral part of any building, the construction industry produces a surplus of plasterboard. One of the best ways to dispose of this is single stream recycling. This allows businesses to recycle large volumes of waste with ease and can be applied to some of the materials below.

Metal

Metal is a durable and strong building material. If you want to build with the environment in mind, steel is a great metal to work with. In fact, research shows that the steel we use is made of 40% recycled scrap metal. This means you’re reducing carbon emissions before construction has begun.

It is also simple to recycle or reuse steel. In construction, metal bars are placed within walls to provide strength and stability. These are called rebars. Whether you’re building from scratch or renovating a space, you may have a surplus of this material. However, as the Steel Recycling Institute claims around 65% of these bars are recycled, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Brick

In the UK, brick is the most common material used to build houses. If you walk down any street in the nation, you’ll see bricks upon bricks forming the environment around you. So, it’s important that we’re able to make this building material as sustainable as possible. Luckily, reclaimed bricks can be used in construction.

One of the best times to use recycled bricks is during a renovation, from reviving a century-old public building to replacing a wall in a barn conversion. They may be slightly less apt for insulation, but they’ll add a sense of vintage style to any renovation project. So you can save the environment one reclaimed brick at a time.

Wooden pallets

Construction is no small task. Building a simple structure requires a large number of different materials. These are often stacked and stored on wooden pallets. In the UK, these pallets account for 10% of waste in the construction industry. To reduce this waste, companies can attempt to reuse these or recycle them for scrap wood.

Overall, the construction industry has a long way to go before it is carbon neutral. There are governmental plans in motion to reduce the environmental impact of the sector, but it always helps to start small and focus on the little things. So, using materials that can be recycled and reused is a great way to be environmentally conscious. By following these simple steps, builders and engineers shine hope on a greener future. How will you help build a carbon-conscious society?

The new plant, designed around ZenRobotics’ technology and distributed by ReTec Miljø, is expected to be operational in the summer of 2022. The new, fully autonomous robotic sorting station will sort up to 25,000 tons of mixed waste per year. Intelligent robots will sort materials such as combustible waste, bulky waste, metal, wood and plastic received from municipalities, industry and business.

The automated robots are powered by advanced AI and sensor technologies which make it possible to continuously fine-tune the fractions and separate different types of waste, thus improving recycling possibilities and the circular economy. Solum’s new robot waste sorting plant consists of multiple robot arms that lift objects up to 30kg and together handle up to 4,000 picks per hour even 24/7. By comparison, a human can handle approximately 700 picks per hour and cannot work 24 hours a day without breaks. The sorting plant eliminates occupational health risks associated with manual sorting, increases the degree of purity by up to 98% and reduces the associated costs.

Solum’s new facility is a fully autonomous standalone robotic sorting station that is independent from other operations and replaces manual processes in waste sorting. Before robots come into play, the material first goes through a simple screening step where fines and foils are sorted out. The material is then loaded into a feeding bunker where the material flows evenly and autonomously to the robots through a loader. The AI-powered sorting robots work independently and empty the feeding bunker during the day and again during the night when employees on the site go home. In the morning, the employees arrive and fill the feeding bunker, and the process starts all over again.