Green deals formalized!
Three commitments signed in April 2016, on recycling and recovery of gypsum and acrylic glass waste, and recycling of aggregates and inert construction materials have been published.
The goal is to allow other professional sectors to draw inspiration from this.
In late April 2016, green deals (engagements pour la croissance verte - ECV) were signed. These are reciprocal commitments between the State and companies in the field of the circular economy, with the aim of releasing the economic and environmental potential of innovative projects for green growth. The first four ECVs deal with recycling and recovery of waste gypsum, and acrylic glass, recovery and recycling of uniforms and professional textiles and recycling of aggregates and inert construction materials.
The texts of three ECVs are published in the Bulletin Officiel (Official newsletter) of the French Environmental Ministry to allow others to become acquainted with them and to draw inspiration from them. These commitments run until the end of April 2019.
Recovery and recycling of inert waste from the construction industry
An ECV on recycling inert aggregates and construction materials is supported by the Union nationale des industries de carrières et matériaux de construction - UNICEM (National union of quarries and building materials), the Union nationale des producteurs de granulats - UNPG (National union of aggregate producers) and the Syndicat national du béton prêt à l’emploi - SNBPE (National ready-mix concrete union). These project leaders aspire to increase the amount of recycled aggregates and materials by 50% by 2020 compared to 2014, moving from 20 to 30 million tonnes, and to develop recovery of the non-recyclable fraction of inert waste from quarries in order to meet with the reclamation obligations required in prefectural orders.
The commitments relate in particular to setting up a dashboard for recycling and recovery of inert waste from the construction industry and an Internet platform for the promotion of best practice, and to communicating the map of the national network of quarries and dedicated platforms that perform recycling and/or recovery operations for inert waste from the construction industry.
One of the actions will be to undertake a study based on 3 to 5 quarries and/or recycling platforms identified in five pilot regions. It will focus on recycling of waste brought in from outside and returning in the form of aggregates recycled outside the site; redevelopment of quarries using backfilling to analyse potential change in the use of land so redeveloped; obstacles against, and levers for recycling and recovery of inert waste from the construction industry.
The SNBPE is committed to integrating feedback from the Recybéton programme to promote standard NF EN206 / CN so that the possibilities of introducing recycled aggregates are implemented more effectively.
Recycling of gypsum waste
This ECV was signed between the Syndicat national des industries du plâtre - SNIP (National Union of plaster industries) and some of the companies in the sector such as Knauf Plasterboard and Siniat and the government.
The plaster manufacturers have been voluntarily committed since 2008 to developing a recycling industry based on plaster products at end of life, and have signed a national gypsum waste management charter. This has made it possible to set up a national collector network and to significantly increase the tonnages of external recycled gypsum waste, from 10,000 tonnes in 2008 to 66,000 tonnes in 2014. Companies in the sector now want to go further and are aspiring to recycle 250,000 tons of gypsum waste by 2020.
To this end, the SNIP has undertaken to draw up and communicate the map of the national plaster waste collector network of its members on its website and publish the common technical specifications for the recycled gypsum from waste construction products used by French plasterboard factories. Communication and awareness actions for those involved in demolition will be developed and exemplary pilot recycling sites will be created.
For its part, the State is involved in including a lot dedicated to waste management in public contracts, instead of charging it to the pro rata account, which will allow contracting authorities and prime contractors to know the cost of waste management and, where appropriate, to entrust this service to a specialized company able to optimize it.
A progress report is to be made before 1 July 2017.
Acrylic glass recycling (Reverplast project)
Currently, there is a process to regenerate acrylic glass into methylmethacrylate MMA-R developed many years ago, but processing only scrap from manufacturing or from cutting pure acrylic glass plates. The ambition of the Reverplast project is to extend recycling of acrylic glass beyond just scrap, creating real recovery processes, for example from signage, signs, lights and interior parts of vehicles that have reached the end of their service life, fittings and interior design parts, and electrical and electronic waste.
In current markets (building, illuminated signs and signage, automotive, electronics and aerospace), "optical" purity requirements often stand in the way of using MAM-R. This project will help to find new markets such as onshore wind farms, photovoltaics or boating.
Furthermore, replacing parts today made of non-recyclable thermoset polymers (epoxy and polyester) by a recyclable thermoplastic such as acrylic glass will have a very positive environmental impact by reducing the use of raw fossil materials upstream, and downstream, the creation of waste.
The partners Arkema, Adera/canoe, Paprec, Indra, and Plastinov have undertaken to accept the new thermal depolymerization process for acrylic glass, to present the environmental benefits of this process (through a life cycle assessment or equivalent method) and to justify compliance with the existing regulations on classified installations. They will identify recyclable acrylic resources in France and Europe and establish conditions for organizing one or more collection systems. Finally, they will quantify the opportunities for acrylic glass recycled as MAM-R in existing and developing applications, and will validate the economic sustainability of the recovery and recycling of acrylic glass as MAM-R for use in new identified markets.
Gaëlle Guyard, Code permanent Environnement et nuisances (French permanent environment and pollution code)
ECV, 27 Apr. 2016, NOR: DEVD1618978X: Min. environment official newsletter no. 2016/18, 10 Oct.
ECV, 27 Apr. 2016, NOR: DEVD1618981X: Min. environment official newsletter no. 2016/18, 10 Oct.
ECV, 27 Apr. 2016, NOR: DEVD1618984X: Min. environment official newsletter no. 2016/18, 10 Oct.
