February 8, 2025

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Can we build a fully recycled and r… – Information Centre – Research & Innovation

An EU-funded job has produced prefabricated energy-economical creating ideas manufactured from components, elements and buildings derived from building and demolition waste. The strategy permits the effortless assembly and disassembly of properties for long run reuse.


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© Ambrose #863692 source: stock.adobe.com 2020

The building sector is an important driver of European prosperity. Nevertheless, it is also a big purchaser of uncooked components and makes massive amounts of building and demolition waste (CDW). These are crucial problems recognized by the Europe 2020 tactic, which involves EU Member States to reuse, recycle and recover a least of 70 {79e59ee6e2f5cf570628ed7ac4055bef3419265de010b59461d891d43fac5627} by fat of non-dangerous CDW.

This focus on could be achieved by setting up and refurbishing properties applying CDW. The EU-funded RE4 job shown how this can be accomplished.

‘RE4 contributed to reaching the focus on for CDW recycling/restoration by 2020 by offering innovative systems and reliable tactics for the style and manufacture of structural and non-structural pre-fabricated components, with a higher degree – up to 85 {79e59ee6e2f5cf570628ed7ac4055bef3419265de010b59461d891d43fac5627} – of recycled components, and by reusing buildings from the partial or total demolition of properties,’ says job coordinator Alessandro Largo of CETMA, Italy.

4 pillars

The project’s remedies were built-in, validated and showcased in the building of two-storey demonstration properties at job partners’ premises, ACCIONA in Spain and CREAGH in the Uk. In Spain, the job also shown the tactic for disassembly and reuse of buildings from conclusion-of-everyday living properties.

The staff confirmed how CDW-derived buildings and components, this kind of as concrete, timber, roof tiles and bricks, can be made use of to develop prefabricated, totally reusable properties. RE4’s results was designed on four pillars: maximising the amount of money of precious components recovered planning reusable creating elements enhancing CDW administration through digitisation and rising the acceptance of CDW-based products and solutions.

An superior robotic sorting technique was produced for the duration of the RE4 job to enhance the good quality of sorted components, the principal emphasis being on those with higher economic worth this kind of as sand. The job staff also outlined new good quality courses for CDW-derived aggregates and recognized optimum recycling tactics for every single of them.

This led to the generation of 5 new concrete components with different attributes, four new elements (blocks, tiles, timber and insulating panels), and four new prefabricated components (concrete and timber façade panels, load-bearing concrete components and interior partition walls). In all these products and solutions, 50-85 {79e59ee6e2f5cf570628ed7ac4055bef3419265de010b59461d891d43fac5627} of new substance was replaced with recycled components.
RE4’s innovative creating strategy, applying prefabricated, conveniently dismountable elements, permits a new dwelling to be designed with up to 100 {79e59ee6e2f5cf570628ed7ac4055bef3419265de010b59461d891d43fac5627} reusable buildings.

The project’s strategy can also be made use of to refurbish present houses. RE4 remedies for refurbishment were applied to present properties in Italy and Taiwan, getting into account climatic and structural things in different geographical zones. The seismic general performance of RE4‘s innovative remedies was confirmed through shaking-table screening.

Constructing on the positive aspects

The new components and elements derived from CDW have decreased environmental impacts than common ones, with more than 50 {79e59ee6e2f5cf570628ed7ac4055bef3419265de010b59461d891d43fac5627} conserving in phrases of CO2 emissions, and savings in the consumption of energy and uncooked components. They are also more than 20 {79e59ee6e2f5cf570628ed7ac4055bef3419265de010b59461d891d43fac5627} more affordable to develop.

Sector companions can therefore take a competitive edge in top the changeover in the direction of a circular economic climate in the building and demolition sector. They can make demolition more economically feasible, for example, and make certain the good quality of resulting secondary uncooked components. Benefits are also derived from standardised generation rising efficiency, and through the fulfilment of specifications for inexperienced properties. Furthermore, RE4 remedies can create new inexperienced task opportunities and companies.

‘The RE4 job has shown how CDW-derived components and buildings can be efficiently reintroduced in the generation cycles of concrete and timber elements with a alternative level of 50-85 {79e59ee6e2f5cf570628ed7ac4055bef3419265de010b59461d891d43fac5627}. Furthermore, from a complex point of see, a totally prefabricated, 100 {79e59ee6e2f5cf570628ed7ac4055bef3419265de010b59461d891d43fac5627} reusable creating is now a fact,’ says Largo.

‘The way is being paved but there is nonetheless a sturdy want to enhance waste identification, separation and assortment at source, good quality evaluation processes and, predominantly, coverage and framework problems to foster the changeover to a circular economic climate in building,’ he concludes.