The recycling of building materials - including their intact recycling - has been given a boost by the tightening carbon footprint requirements, but in the future the pace must be much better than at present. It requires even more detailed pre-screening of demolition sites, electronic marketplaces, lightening of regulations and close cooperation of the entire construction industry.
There has been talk about a better recycling rate of building materials for a long time, and clear development steps in the right direction have been taken in the field in recent years. In demolition sites, usable building parts and materials are tried to be recovered intact instead of crushed, and reuse is sought for them from other places than just infrastructure construction.
There is enough material available, but the circular economy market in construction is still in its infancy in many respects.
Builders and designers do not always have accurate enough information about what kind of goods, where in Finland and how much is available at any given time. Demolition companies, on the other hand, find it difficult to anticipate the future needs of builders, which makes large-scale storage of recycled materials unprofitable.
New ideas from the innovation competition
Last summer, a solution to this chicken-and-egg puzzle was also sought in the joint innovation challenge of the City of Helsinki, the KIRA growth program, NCC, Skanska, SRV and YIT - Circular economy solutions as a service.
The goal of the competition was to find services and solutions that facilitate the reuse of construction products and help companies in the construction industry to implement the circular economy into practical activities.
Sweco Finland's Material Harvester service, Spolia Design's turnkey recycling solution, and the service concept developed by Lotus Demolition together with Revisol, which enhances the reuse of demolition bricks, won the awards.
All of them were about electronic platform economy solutions, with which demand and supply can be met better than at present and new momentum is found in the recycling of construction materials.
the director of the KIRA growth program Mia Toivanen according to the competition highlighted not only the underdevelopment of the recycling market but also the importance of cooperation within the construction industry. Without a decent subscriber volume, the market will not move forward at sufficient speed - on the other hand, one operator cannot meet the demand of the entire industry either.
"A change is needed, because the construction sector cannot be sufficiently low-carbon without recycled materials," states Toivanen.
Green requirements from customers as well
Branch manager of Lotus Demolition, which built the demolition brick service together with Revisol Olli-Pekka Itälän according to the report, the demand is now growing steadily, as the customers of construction companies have also started to demand the use of recycled materials.
For example, at Nokia, the facade bricks of the old health center are reused on other sites. In turn, Hanoi and doors have been found to be reused in other properties in the city.
"The demolition bricks of the Kannelmäki school in the city of Helsinki and Länsisatama are also put into circulation at the customer's request," Itälä says.
The service concept that participated in the challenge works on the principle that Lotus Demolition makes a preliminary survey of the objects, takes care of the demolition work, and separates and packs the demolition materials into a condition that can be stored. Revisol, on the other hand, is responsible for logistics, practical storage and transport to the customer.
"Although the recycling rate is still shaky, the industry has made big strides forward in a few years. Wood, metal, brick, plasterboard and wool go to the waste station for reuse, and no object is dismantled without prior mapping," states Itälä.
Used is becoming an even more popular option
YIT's director of development Benjamin Kalliolan according to one of the central problems of the circular economy is the current set of standards in the construction industry, which in many places prevents the use of recycled materials.
However, for reasons of climate and responsibility, things have to be thought of differently. The old and usable should be prioritized in the selections, if it is technically and economically possible. New building materials must also be produced more eco-efficiently.
"Every innovation, market platform and marketplace is a step in the right direction. In the future, circular economy platforms will become completely normal procurement channels for construction firms," predicts Kalliola.
According to him, there won't be a shortage of material, it will be taken care of by long-vacant and aging office areas and vacant properties in municipalities that have lost emigration. In addition to traditional doors, windows, bricks, hollow tiles and concrete elements, textile carpets, suspended ceiling tiles, glass walls and kitchens are also suitable for recycling.
Among recycled products, Kalliola raises, for example, circular economy bricks. Its use was applied in close cooperation with YIT, the Yrjö ja Hanna foundation, ARK-house architects, A-Insinööri, Iittala and Wienerberger for the Lifelong learning circular economy block project in Jätkäsaari, Helsinki.
Recycled materials already guide purchases
Skanska's leading expert Miro Ristimäki according to the challenge competition offered a window into the current repertoire of circular economy solutions and an opportunity for their further development.
"Based on this, it is good to start promoting concrete measures. In accordance with the Green Deal commitment, we strive to increase the reuse of products with significant mass, such as hollow tiles, pillars, beams, wall elements, steel structures and bricks," says Ristimäki.
The line is also the same in SRV. The manager responsible for life cycle projects Jani Kuivamäki according to the challenge competition, projects are being sought in which the presented services could be utilized in the future.
"Recycled materials are one factor that guides material purchases. For example, reusable bricks, steel structures and partly also the reuse of concrete structures will be targets," Kuivamäki lists.
Text: Timo Sormunen