Analysis of a circular economy platform project for construction

Case study

Context

The French extended producer responsibility scheme for building products and materials (REP PMCB) sets reuse targets of 4% in 2027 and 5% in 2028. In a large French metropolitan area, the national urban renewal programme plans to demolish thousands of housing units, which will generate around 330,000 tonnes of concrete. A group of social housing providers is backing a project for a circular economy platform for construction waste, led by six companies, to sort, recycle and resell these materials.

Recycling platforms are almost always located on the outskirts of cities. An urban, multi-material platform is therefore a model with no track record: its added value and the conditions for its success had yet to be established.

Notre approche

GATE C compared the project with the five models of construction waste platforms already on the market. Each model is defined by the services it covers:

• the recycling centre, which stores, sorts and recycles a single material;
• the urban multi-service platform, which offers multi-material storage, sorting and recycling to construction and demolition sites, without preparation for reuse;
• the reuse platform, which stores, sorts and prepares materials for reuse, without recycling them;
• the digital reuse platform, which connects sellers and buyers of reclaimed materials, with no storage or physical processing;
• the deconstruction management service, which audits, organises and plans deconstruction projects upstream.

None of these models combines storage, sorting, recycling and preparation for reuse. The circular economy platform under study is the only one to do so for all construction materials. Its urban location adds a cost advantage. Construction waste is rarely transported by road beyond 35 km, and the cost of heavy materials rises with delivery distance. An urban platform therefore reduces this cost in both directions: from the demolition site to the platform, then from the platform to the construction site.

Résultats

• A map of the five existing platform models: the services each one covers, which positions the project within the construction waste management offering.
• A distinctive position: the platform is the only one to combine storage, sorting, recycling and preparation for reuse for all materials.
• An offer built for two client types: demolition contractors gain a single outlet for structural and finishing works waste, and builders find waste collection and material purchasing on one site.
• A cost advantage from the urban location: it applies both to waste transport and to the delivery of recycled materials.
• Three conditions for success: waste supply beyond the urban renewal programme, governance suited to a consortium of six companies, and the specification of recycled materials by project owners.
• Three development avenues, building on the consortium’s skills: selective deconstruction support, recycled aggregate of sufficient quality for concrete, and roll-out of the model to other cities.