Construction and works

Ihobe Eusko Jaurlaritza
TECNALIA

INNOVATIVE HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS TO RECYCLE AND RECOVER COMPLEX CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE

The annual generation of construction and demolition waste (CDW) in the EU is estimated to exceed 550 million tonnes between 2025 and 2030. CDW is becoming increasingly complex and there is a need to move away from traditional recycling approaches to innovative recycling and recovery solutions. This will guarantee greater efficiency in the recovery of mineral, metallic and organic resources contained in this priority waste stream, included as such in the European Green Deal and in the 2030 Environmental Framework Programme for the Basque Country. Therefore, the Basque Eco-design Centre's Strategic Monitoring Report includes construction waste among the keys to achieving a circular economy as one of the objects of new specific legislative proposals for the incorporation of secondary raw materials as substitutes for virgin raw materials. Its initiatives include new eco-design requirements for construction products or establishing a database as the basis for a digital passport.

COLLABORATORS

HISER is led by the TECNALIA Technology Centre, and has a total of 23 participating entities. The project formulates, develops and tests new cost-effective and comprehensive methodological solutions and tools throughout the entire construction value chain that facilitates the collection and processing of data on types, qualities and quantities of construction waste materials for highly efficient selective sorting at source during the execution of demolition and rehabilitation works. Through the use of a new Smart BIM-SD tool and an innovative supply chain tracking system, more accurate information on waste materials from existing buildings is available. These solutions contribute to improved decision-making in the implementation process, on-site sorting and management of subsequent waste materials arising during demolition/rehabilitation of residential and non-residential buildings. Consequently, larger quantities of sorted waste materials will be generated on-site from the start of construction to the end of its service life.

Taking these as a starting point, the project develops and optimises new cost-effective construction products by partially replacing virgin raw materials with increased quantities of high-purity secondary raw materials recovered from complex CDW. For this purpose, it applies advanced technologies for the production of high purity raw materials ranging from 80 to 100% from complex CDW. Among other products, new cost-effective green concrete with more than 1,300 kg of recycled aggregates per cubic metre of new concrete; new cost-effective bricks made with a partial replacement (up to 10% by weight) of the inert sand fraction by CDW; reclaimed ceramic material ("brick by brick"); new absorbent plasterboards, fire-resistant plaster plasters and composite plasterboard panels made with a partial replacement (up to 50%) of natural gypsum and fibres by CDW; and other recycled materials.

IHOBE's participation in HISER has fostered the implementation of case studies in the Basque Country, which are relevant for their replicability, as well as implementing the project’s technical developments in technical regulations in the Basque Country, thus contributing to the transfer of the results. IHOBE also supported the continuity of the project methodologies through its participation in the ICEBERG project.

Project website

The design of the HISER project has been supported technically and financially by IHOBE within the framework of the "ECOINNOVATION PROJECT FACTORY" initiative. HISER has been funded by the European HORIZON 2020 programme, with IHOBE as a partner.