Get inspired: Wienerberger

The transition to a circular construction industry is unstoppable. From more economical use of materials through downcycling and recycling to upcycling. Brick producer Wienerberger is leading by example.

In a circular economy, buildings and building materials are used, reused, adapted and rebuilt for as long as possible. This helps prevent too many materials ending up as waste and reduces the ever increasing draw on new material sources.

Circular construction offers a solution to several problems. It can transform the construction industry from one with a huge environmental impact to one that actively contributes to a sustainable future.

Currently, the construction industry in Flanders produces some 15 million tonnes of waste each year, accounting for about 35% of our total waste. Construction and demolition activities account for between 5% and 12% of Belgium’s national CO2 emissions. Circular construction can make a big dent in those figures, with positive impacts on climate, environment, economic growth and employment. Using fewer materials or reusing more and closing (local) raw materials and materials chains helps reduce the overall environmental impact.

To properly implement the principles of the circular economy, Wienerberger, one of the largest brick manufacturers in the world, is working with the Flemish demolition management organisation Tracimat and other building material producers.

As an example, stone rubble is already being used as a base material for building foundations in road construction. This is referred to as ‘downcycling’; the material is repurposed for use in a lower-grade application than its original purpose. However, downcycling isn’t the only option. Ceramic building materials, for example, can be perfectly well reused at the end of their life as the raw material for new ceramic products.

Wienerberger already recycles residual brick waste and factory brick rubble to create new products. One proviso is that stone rubble must be clean. That’s not a problem for the company’s own residual waste; the rubble is crushed at Wienerberger's production sites, sieved, converted into fine powder and reused on site in the production process. Old clay roof tiles are then reused as raw material for the production of new ceramic quick-build building blocks.

However, demolition debris from other sites does not always meet this criterion, but contains a lot of other waste residues such as concrete and plaster. The efficient collection and recycling of demolition debris from factory sites is one of the projects on which Wienerberger is working in partnership with Tracimat and three other building material manufacturers.

Tracimat maintains a database with lots of information about materials that are released on demolition sites. By establishing a link between demolition sites and manufacturers, construction debris can be recycled for high-quality repurposing, as long as the right match can be found. That match isn’t always there yet, because selective demolition was not common practice in the past, and also because the database does not yet provide the necessary detailed information. That was precisely the aim of the collaboration between Tracimat, Wienerberger and three other building material manufacturers: to inform demolition specialists and demolition contractors of the acceptance criteria and principles applied by manufacturers for high-grade material recycling.

The requisite product knowledge was provided through training, and a decision tree was constructed which helps identify whether building materials are suitable for recovery and reuse as new raw material (a process known as ‘urban mining’).

At the same time, the Tracimat database has been extended to include the data needed for a more effective visualisation of the demolition materials logistics chain. For example, ceramic materials are now no longer classified in the database as one group, but are split into clay roof tiles and bricks. This makes it easier to assess whether a demolition waste fraction is suitable for incorporation into the production process.
In this way, Wienerberger and its project partners are turning their ambition to contribute to a circular construction sector into reality.
 

Also read 'Circular business is about partnership and teamwork' - 'The transition to a more circular economy' - 'Building for tomorrow'.

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