Heidelberg Materials inaugurated a plant near Katowice in Poland this week for separating and sorting demolition concrete. This gives us the chance to catch up with the state of construction and demolition waste (CDW) for the cement and concrete sectors and consider the differences between the strategies of the multinational heavy building materials companies in
Holcim has completed the acquisition of Mark Desmedt, a Belgium-based company that recycles more than 0.5Mt/yr of construction demolition materials. This acquisition aligns with Holcim’s goal to recycle 10Mt/yr of construction demolition materials. CEO of Holcim, Miljan Gutovic said “With the Mark Desmedt team, we are accelerating our vision to drive circular construction in the
Golden Bay, New Zealand’s sole cement producer and a division of Fletcher Building, is advancing its sustainability goals at its Portland plant near Whangārei. The plant has been incorporating old tyres and treated timber in its production process since 2021, with the Ministry for Environment helping fund US$10m of the US$15.5m to upgrade the plant
Holcim’s Hagerstown plant in Maryland has increased its alternative fuels substitution rate to 45%, equivalent to 58,000t/yr of engineered fuel. This US$11m initiative utilises end-of-life materials like non-recyclable paper, plastics and fibres, sourced from commercial and industrial materials like packaging. Geocycle, a subsidiary of Holcim US, will process these materials at its new Cumberland facility,
Lafarge Canada and Geocycle Canada have successfully completed a pilot at the Lafarge Brookfield cement plant in Nova Scotia to produce clinker using recycled minerals from discarded material. This pilot can potentially cut CO₂ emissions by 60% of clinker. The new clinker product will be used to produce recycled cement in 2024. CEO of Lafarge
Heidelberg Materials UK has opened a new circular materials hub at its Appleford depot in Oxfordshire. The site will recycle construction waste for use in low-CO2 building materials. The move advances the company’s strategy to conserve natural materials and support the circular economy. Recycling managing director James Whitelaw said “Recycling, reusing and reducing the use of
Holcim says that it aims to conclude 15 – 20 new acquisitions in 2024, and potentially ‘many more.’ The value of individual deals ranges from US$5.78 – 115m, but might possibly exceed US$230m. Holcim says that it is focussing on growing its construction waste recycling business in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK, as well
Switzerland-based CO2 mineralisation technology developer Neustark says that it sees major potential for recycling concrete from construction and demolition waste (CDW) to produce carbon-negative products using its process in Germany. Neustark inaugurated its first German plant, and 12th overall, at Marzahn in Berlin in late 2023. Capital Online News has reported that the start-up estimates that
The European Parliament voted in favour of multiple amendments to the European Commission’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) on 22 November 2023. The amendments remove, modify or make non-binding the PPWR’s 2040 reuse targets. Meanwhile, 2030 targets were made adjustable to recycling rates. Total packaging volumes are still required to drop by 5% by
Holcim France has commissioned its new Saint-Laurent-de-Mûre alternative raw materials plant in Rhône Department. The unit produces cementitious paste from construction and demolition waste using Holcim’s ECOCycle upcycling process. It will source construction and demolition waste from the Lyon Metropolitan Area. Holcim’s global head of circular construction Vincent Teissier said “Advancing such circular technologies is
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