Construction and demolition waste in Central Finland

Construction and demolition waste has attracted attention in Finland and Europe during recent years. The growing interest in construction and demolition waste is due to its’ huge amounts and recycling targets that aim to increase recycling rates of construction waste among other waste streams.

Construction and demolition waste is the biggest waste stream in Central Finland, however the majority is soil from construction sites. The importance of construction and demolition waste has been acknowledged in Central Finland, and it is one of the four focus areas in Central Finland’s Circwaste roadmap.

CIRCWASTE is a seven-year LIFE IP project that promotes efficient use of material flows, waste prevention and new waste and resource management concepts. The project is coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute. The Regional Council of Central Finland coordinates the Cirwaste work in Central Finland and collaborates with regional stakeholders as well as with other Circwaste regions.

In 2018, the Regional Council of Central Finland issued a report about the present state of waste management in the region. One of the topics addressed in this report was construction and demolition waste. The report shows that Central Finland produces approximately 1 080 000 tonnes of construction waste per year. 10 % of this waste is produced by the housebuilding sector. Content of the housebuilding waste varies between sites, the biggest waste components being mineral waste (such as concrete and bricks) and wood waste. Currently, most of the wood waste goes to incineration, so waste is utilised for energy purposes but not for material re-use. A work towards material recovery, instead of energy recovery, is continuous in Central Finland.

In 2020, the Regional Council of Central Finland (co-)organised several stakeholder events as part of the Circwaste project. These events included for instance a workshop focused on improved practices to recycle and re-use wood pallets and info session about “Materiaalitori”, i.e. a platform intended for the professional exchange of waste and production side streams from companies and organisations. The platform also allows searching for and offering related services, such as waste management and specialist services. Additionally, the Regional Council has co-organised a regional webinar about new, improved methods of managing demolition waste.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Email: kirjaamokeskisuomi [dot] fi (kirjaamo[at]keskisuomi[dot]fi)

Website: bit.ly/35bJN30

Central Finland will be sharing its experience on the 9th of November during FEDARENE webinar Circular Economy beyond Energy: Recycling and Reducing Waste!