End of Waste – a new lease of life for construction waste

Problem

Renovation and new build construction projects produce vast amounts of waste materials, including plastics, wool, plaster and metals, which usually end up in incinerators. Finland has a relatively low recycling rate for construction waste – less than 30% compared with the EU average of nearly 50%. Some of this difference is explained by the fact that a lot of wood waste is incinerated for energy. The EU-wide recycling target for construction waste is 70% by 2020. According to law, waste fractions sorted and refined from construction waste are still classified as waste, which requires an official permit, the so-called End of Waste status, in order to be approved for reuse.

Solution: End of Waste – a new lease of life for construction waste

Destaclean receives wood waste and mixed construction waste from construction sites. Loads are sorted into waste fractions at recycling stations. During the process, metal and wood are captured for recycling, whereas the remaining mixed waste is typically used as waste-to-energy. The company produces recycled wood fibre to be used as raw material in chipboard manufacturing. The company has also developed, among other things, the Destaclean Wood Stone suited for landscaping and infrastructure projects. With these concrete products, recycled wood fibre has been used to replace natural stone aggregate by up to 50% of the total volume of the product. For this process, Destaclean is the first European company to have received the End of Waste status.

Revenue logic and benefits to Destaclean

Destaclean’s revenue logic is based on the weighing and processing fees collected on the delivery of construction waste, and the sale of recycled raw materials and products manufactured after the sorting and treatment processes. In addition, Destaclean sells recycled metal to downstream operators and wood chips to heating plants and energy companies.

Benefits to customers and end users

Product manufacturers are provided with wood chip fibre of uniform quality for raw material. The wood stone reduces the need for quarrying and helps to conserve natural aggregate products. Downstream operators receive sorted and graded recycled metals, which makes further processing easier. For energy producers, Destaclean offers a uniform wood chip product which helps to balance the incineration process.