European Quality Association for Recycling calls for more C&D recycling in the European Union

The European Quality Association for Recycling (EQAR) held the EQAR Congress on the subject of construction materials recycling in Europe in Bratislava, Slovakia, on the occasion of its existence for 10 years.

In his inaugural address, EQAR President Manfred Wierichs pointed to the fact that the state of construction material recycling differs remarkably in the various European Union (EU) member states though construction material recycling is indispensable for avoiding waste and protecting European landscape areas.

The need for action was shown by examples in the panel discussion held at the EQAR Congress. There was an example reported from Czechia of  legally dumping of 700,000 tons of construction waste per year in urban regions (around two miles away from the city center) was to be regarded as "pseudo-recultivation."

In Slovakia, there has been interest in extending recycling of construction and demolition debris that the Ministry for the Environment did not observe. Thus, proposals submitted in writing for specific talks have been answered only after years and no representative of the Ministry for the Environment of Slovakia was ready to represent his country in a discussion at the congress.

Important legal steps are lacking in the EU countries where recycling of construction and demolition wastes has to first be established area-wide. This involves specific national legal targets for construction and demolition wastes that would be a necessary prerequisite to the development of recycling markets.

Vincent Basuyau, policy officer of sustainable construction at the EU Commission, explained that, according to the EU Waste Framework Directive, all EU countries are obliged to reuse at least 70 percent of the harmless construction and demolition wastes or to subject them to recycling up to 2020. It will be an infringement of the law if this will not be observed. So far some of the EU countries have not reached these targets. However, large support is offered by the EU Commission through training courses and technological investment.

Basuyau added that the EU Commission, with experts from numerous EU countries participating, prepared the EU Construction and Demolition Waste Management Protocol in June 2016. The protocol contains numerous best-practice examples of recycling construction and demolition debris and is to serve as guide to action for the member countries. It is the target of the EU to ensure that recycled construction material will be comprehensively used by public authorities and private institutions. In addition, the EU deals with putting into effect green criteria for placement of orders relating also to the construction of roads and buildings.

An aspect made repeatedly the subject of discussion at the EQAR Congress was the demand for an EU-wide regulation of the end-of-waste for recycled construction materials. So far only five EU member countries adopted respective end-of-waste criteria and this with a differing level of regulation. To ensure that quality-controlled recycled construction materials shall be no longer regarded as waste and thus, not be disadvantaged as compared with primary construction materials, EU-wide end-of-waste criteria should be adopted for them. This will also facilitate the border traffic of these materials over EU internal borders which will be of great importance to implementing an internal European market for construction products.

The EQAR Award was also presented at the EQAR Congress. It was presented to GB Energy Holding, Brno, Czechia. The prize was awarded for the procedure of GB Energy's C&D debris recycling process for concrete. The second prize was awarded to Bernegger, Molln, Austria, who developed a container-mobile wet screening plant for soil and residual construction mass processing, which is ready for use within one week.