Holcim is expanding its range of CDM recycling facilities in Europe. CDM or construction demolition materials, such as concrete, bricks and wood, are the debris that comes from the construction and demolition of buildings. They’re produced at a rate of several billion tonnes per year, many of which end up in landfills. The company recycled over 8 billion tonnes in 2023, and aims to achieve a CDM recycling capacity of 10 tonnes per year within the foreseeable future.
To allow for greater sustainability, Holcim is creating numerous CDM recycling facilities in Europe, one which was completed in 2021. The first of these CDM recycling facilities is located in Niederstetten, Switzerland, with more set to open across Switzerland and the rest of Europe over the coming years.
The Niderstetten location features a 20,000m2 facility designed specifically to sort, treat, crush and reuse construction demolition materials by using highly automated processes, digitization and other modern technology. This site, known as the RCO or Recycling Centre Ostschweiz, is able to process over 200,000 tonnes of unpolluted mineral excavation and demolition materials yearly.
CDM Recycling Through Innovative Technologies
In 2022 Holcim introduced a new wet mechanical process that allows for the recycling of materials such as concrete rubble, mixed concrete, excavated materials and track ballast (both contaminated and contaminated). These materials would all otherwise be sent to landfills.
Thanks to this recycling process, enough recycled material is created to build over 500 single family houses each year. Many of the aggregates are then used to produce concrete at Holcim’s nearby concrete production facility in Niederstetten.
Through the use of material washing, twin shaft crushers, the removal of foreign matter, classification, sand processing and material storage into a silo, as well as rainwater treatment, the proprietary ECOCycle technology being employed is able to upcycle up to 100 percent of CDM.
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New Expansions Planned for Holcim’s CDM Recycling Goals
By the year 2050, Holcim plans to have over 150 ECOCycle platforms in Europe designed to reduce waste, and many more around the world. Holcim also has four new European acquisitions in 2024 to spur on CDM recycling, with another, the Cand-Landi Group, also being in Switzerland.
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