Infrastructure developer Kreate took every step to reduce the use of virgin aggregates and emissions in construction. Crushed concrete made from recycled concrete replaces aggregates taken from nature both in land and green construction as well as in house construction.
In Finland, 55 percent of raw materials are used in construction, of which infrastructure construction accounts for approximately 60 percent. In the infrastructure sector, earth and stone materials are produced, modified and moved, which are used in both construction and infrastructure maintenance.
The infrastructure sector is feverishly looking for ways to reduce the use of virgin aggregates and emissions, as well as to utilize recycled materials.
Focused on building demanding infrastructure, Kreate has been purposefully promoting the circular economy for years. One example is KreMu, a recycling product developed and manufactured by the company.
"KreMu is created from concrete waste, which we process and crush in a controlled process so that its status is no longer waste, but a product. Construction sites can use it without permit bureaucracy and almost like virgin aggregate for land, landscaping and house construction," says the circular economy production manager Topias Lahti From Crete.
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The EEJ, i.e. No more waste, regulation that entered into force in the fall of 2022 enabled concrete recycling to become more common in the construction industry.
"As awareness increases, less and less demolition waste from construction sites is left unused. Clients and municipalities also play a major role, determining the boundary conditions for the materials used in construction and the utilization of demolition waste in the sites. Builders are eager to use recycled materials, as long as the customers make it possible," sums up Kreate's Director of Circular Economy Tuomo Joutsenoja.
Like other circular economy products, KreMu recycled crushed concrete also reduces environmental impacts and helps builders meet their sustainability goals. At the same time, it brings clear savings in construction costs.
"Crushed concrete can be used to replace the crushed rock needed in infrastructure construction, thus saving natural aggregates. At the same time, there will be cost savings; the use of recycled crushed stone can be even more than half cheaper than virgin aggregate", Joutsenoja compares.
In infrastructure construction, typical targets for crushed stone produced from demolition and surplus concrete are load-bearing and dividing layers of structures, where they replace natural materials.
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Launched in the spring of 2023, KreMu has been used successfully in, for example, road substructures, field structures, and the sub-bases of industrial and warehouse buildings.
"At best, we use it in the Helsinki-Riihimäki railway project. It replaces crushed stone in stabilization beds, pile slab bases and service roads. In this way, we achieve a CO62e emission saving of 2 tons compared to the use of virgin material, which corresponds to driving a good 440 kilometers with a petrol car", calculates Kreate's environmental manager Sami Häkkinen.
In the Kirjalansalmi and Hessundinsalmi bridges project in Parain, which is one of the most demanding bridge projects in Finland, the circular economy has been taken one step further. An environmental permit has been applied for the construction site for the handling of concrete waste and the EEJ procedure, which enables the production of crushed concrete directly on the construction site and its beneficial use without a separate permit.
"Creating concrete waste into crushed stone directly on site significantly reduces the costs and emissions caused by transport trips," says Häkkinen, who works as the project's environmental manager.
Kreate also receives raw materials and waste, and further processes and sells versatile products from several of its circular economy areas. "We have expanded our circular economy activities in a planned way, and we are also diligently selling circular economy products to other players in the construction industry," Lahti is happy.
Long-term development and resource efficiency
The construction industry is looking for more resource-efficient ways to implement projects. For example, at Kreate, utilizing recycled materials and reducing waste has become part of everyday life.
"Our goal is to use the excavated soil and the materials to be dismantled, either as is or processed immediately on the site or as close as possible to it. Whenever the permit conditions of the project allow, we choose recycled materials or lower-emission material options", director of circular economy Tuomo Joutsenoja sums up Kreate's circular economy principles.
"The more we are able to use recycled materials, manage side streams and reduce the use of natural materials and the amount of waste, the more material efficient we are."
Own circular economy areas enable development work and testing of recycled products.
"For example, we made a storage field in one of our circular economy terminals with 'cold asphalt', i.e. a mixture of discarded roofing felt pieces and waste asphalt. In the circular economy area of Hirvihaara, we are building a protective embankment from recycled materials to reduce the environmental impact of the shooting range. With these kinds of own choices, new solutions for infrastructure construction are found", Joutsenoja mentions.
