Panda Secures First Irish licence to Reuse Construction and Demolition Waste
Panda, a Beauparc Company, has secured a licence from the EPA to process construction and demolition (C&D) waste and facilitate its reuse, as a product, in the construction of a new roadway.
In 2008, the EU set a target for 70% of construction waste to be recycled by 2020 and such materials are widely used for a range of different construction related applications in places such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, and Latvia, all of whom currently recycle more than 90% of C&D material. Recycled aggregate makes up almost one third of the aggregates used in new build housing in the UK.
In Ireland, these figures are close to zero – due to the continued classification of these materials as waste, the only outlet previously available was disposal at non-hazardous and inert landfills.
Panda currently collects approximately 100,000 tonnes of C&D waste annually, comprised mainly of crushed concrete, but also containing ceramic, tiles, bricks and stone. This ‘end of waste’ application will allow the processing of this material by crushing, screening, removal and separation to produce a reusable material known as ‘Greenrock.’ The Greenrock is set for use in the construction of a new road on an EPA licenced site here in Ireland.
David Tobin, Renewable Energy and Sustainability Director at Beauparc said; “This licence and the reuse of this material is a first step in eliminating construction and demolition waste in Ireland and will help towards meeting local and EU targets for transitioning to a circular economy. At Beauparc we are committed to delivering on the circular economy goal of recycling resources and materials and returning them back to the economy to be used again. We believe this commitment to the circular economy is crucial if we, as a society, want to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
“People already understand that other materials which used to be considered waste should now viewed as a valuable resource and we believe that construction waste should be no different. The creation of new products from construction and demolition waste not only diverts materials from landfill, it also reduces the extraction of finite aggregates resources from quarries, thereby reducing the impact on the environment.”
This is Panda’s second ‘end of waste’ application, the first being the successful end of waste declaration for a recycled plastics plant in 2018. The plastics recycling facility is currently under construction.
Beauparc currently employs 2,300 people, processes 2 million tonnes of waste, supplies over 55,000 homes and businesses with renewable electricity and generates over 80GWh of electricity from landfill gas.