The European Quality Association for Recycling has called for greater measures relating to the recycling of construction materials
Construction materials recycling standards across Europe need to be looked at with greater urgency, according to the European Quality Association for Recycling (EQAR).
The organisation said the level of construction and demolition (C&D) waste recycling varies significantly from member state to member state. Furthermore, legislation in place to ensure C&D recycling targets are met are lacking in some EU countries.
EU member states have a responsibility to meet disposal targets
During the EQAR’s public congress event last month, policy officer for sustainable construction at the European Commission Vincent Basuya said EU member states are bound to use at least 70 per cent of recycled aggregates during the construction process. C&D waste should also be disposed of under the guidance laid out in the EU Waste Framework Directive. However, a number of member states have failed to meet these targets.
During the conference Basuya also gave a progress update on the EU Construction & Demolition Waste Management Protocol. This guidance is expected to contain best practice for C&D waste recycling.
More needs to be done
The EQAR said there needed to be an EU-wide regulation in place for quality-assured recycled construction materials. To date, only five member states have adopted their own criteria for this, at varying levels of regulation.
EQAR said it aims to continue to promote recycling of construction materials while pushing for a European standardisation to be implemented.
