Building again with construction demolition materials
About our recycling center in Austria
Holcim continuously develops new business models that address waste challenges. One such case is Geocycle Austria, which is developing innovative solutions for construction demolition materials (CDM). The Geocycle Recycling Center in Retznei, Austria processes 130,000 tons of CDM every year. Geocycle, in cooperation with the biggest aggregate and concrete partner in Austria, processes these materials and renders them reusable.
Our cement plant in Retznei is setting new benchmarks in recycling and recovery, and the majority of the energy used by the plant is recovered from local pretreated waste. In addition, the waste heat from the kiln is reused by the local community for the heating of buildings. With the Geocycle Recycling Center, the team is also setting a standard in recycling CDM.
Circular economy at work
By 2020, the European Union has mandated that countries must be capable of recycling at least 70 percent of their CDM waste. Out of the total CDM coming to the Geocycle Recycling Center, 35 percent is co-processed in our cement, while another 35 percent is treated and used as recycled aggregates by construction companies. The remaining unrecyclable 30 percent is used as backfilling material for the cement plant quarry.
While we provide cement for construction through our manufacturing facilities, we also offer a deconstruction and sorting service for CDM, and ensure it is recycled at the Geocycle Recycling Center. This approach truly brings the circular economy to life by closing the CDM loop. By implementing this solution, Geocycle demonstrates that it can contribute to achieving the EU’s ambitious target. The company will continue to give a second life to discarded demolition materials and reduce the CDM going to landfills. This initiative has also been recognized as a circular economy best practice by the European Circular Economy Industry Platform.
