From Beer to Natural Resources

09.05.2018

IFAT shows the recycling of building materials.

From Beer to Natural Resources

The former Paulaner Brewery on Nockherberg: Today, the site is characterised by demolition works; up to 2023, 1,500 flats are to be built (Image: IFAT)

More than 50% of the waste in Germany contains residues from construction activities and demolition works. Every year, about 210 million tonnes of such mineral waste including excavation residues are generated in Germany; this is 4,000 times the weight of the Munich Olympic Tower (which has a weight of 52,500 tonnes).

How is this waste handled? Using the example of the demolition works of the former Paulaner Brewery on Nockherberg in Munich, IFAT shows the recycling of building materials. The sustainable exploitation of resources is the core issue of the World’s Leading Trade Fair for Water, Sewage, Waste and Raw Materials Management in Munich from May 14 to 18, 2018.

Today the former Paulaner Brewery on Nockherberg is characterised by demolition works; up to 2023, 1,500 flats are to be built.

Condemned buildings like these are valuable raw material sources. They contain the most various materials - from concrete, bricks and tiles to metals and wood.

Recycling requires the controlled demolition and the separation of the wastes from construction activities and demolition works.

With mobile devices, the materials are separated and sorted on the premises themselves; the material properties are inspected and analysed in line with strict statutory provisions. Hazardous substances need to be disposed of professionally.

It is above the mineral construction and demolition residues such as building waste and concrete, which are suitable for recycling. According to the German Main Association of the Construction Industry, the recycling rate in Germany is 90%.

Only after the pre-sorting and successful analysis, the material is loaded and conveyed to the recycling site.

In treatment plants, e.g. the one of Ettengruber GmbH in Pliening, the material is processed further. In spite of the onsite pre-sorting, the demolition waste still contains impurities.

In the plant, the waste is crushed, sieved and sorted into various fractions, i.e. from coarse to fine.

Independent testing laboratories test the material again to establish its environmental soundness and suitability für construction purposes The material will not be used before it is certified.

In the end, high-grade recycled building materials are produced. They are mainly used in road maintenance and construction, traffic road construction and earthwork.

Because of the industry’s high ecological relevance, its representatives are among the key visitors of IFAT, which takes place from May 14 to 18, 2018. Having more than 3,100 exhibitors, the world’s leading trade fair for environmental technologies welcomes its audience.

Open-air live-demonstrations, among other the “hands-on“ day, organised by VDMA, the German Engineering Association, give visitors an insight into the treatment of demolition residues and mineral wastes; at the same time, visitors can use the opportunity to get in contact with plant manufacturers.

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