Quality guideline of EQAR EQAR provides the following advantages to its members: Preambel: - EQAR supports a sustainable and ecological substance cycle in the sense of a recycling economy in construction. • EQAR-quality label as a European certificate for quality-controlled - EQAR promotes the production of high-quality, quality-controlled recycled recycled building materials building materials of mineral residual building masses. • Information on all recycling subjects - EQAR supports environmental, resources and landscape protection by recycling building materials. • Information on the European laws and regulations - EQAR stands for a high construction and environmental engineering quality of recycled building materials. • Support in political problems on national level - EQAR regards itself as a lobbyist for recycling building materials and stands up for political, economic • Support in market preparation and legal basic conditions promoting a recycling economy. - EQAR claims responsibility for the quality of recycled products. • Marketing for recycled building materials - EQAR supports its members in implementing these aims certifying their quality control systems • Support in all recycling problems according to the following criteria: • Technological lead by a European exchange of experiences • Technical knowhow of modern update recycling materials • Pre-selection of material input Material for recycling shall be only accepted if a pre-selection has taken place during the demolition of the previous object/structure (“controlled demolition”). This is to minimize the input of hazardous materials and pollutants already in advance. The data must be documented. • Removal of materials with pollutants containing harmful substances If, however, pollutants containing harmful substances are found in the material to be recycled this material must be removed or refused. This must be documented. • Input control secures input quality A thorough input control will ensure the required quality and composition of the material input. The Impint input control must be documented. EQAR – European Quality • Processing of the recycled building material according to the requirements in conformity with EN 12620 Association for Recycling e.V. and EN 13242 Kronenstraße 55 - 58 When using recycled building materials in the field where this European standard is applicable these D-10117 Berlin requirements must be met. Germany • Ensuring environmental compatibility in conformity with the relevant regulations of the national states Phone: 0049 (0)30 20314-575 Proof of the suitability of the national regulations relating to environmental compatibility must be fur- Fax: 0049 (0)30 20314-565 nished by sampling and documented. E-Mail: [email protected] Recycling www.eqar.info • Quality assurance by rotational testing of the recycled products A quality assurance system prescribing which regular tests will ensure the quality of the materials must Sources of illustrations and graphics: be developed and adopted. of building materials Titel: Beboy/Fotolia, Sandvik (r.) • Transparency of quality assurance by documenting the test results of the recycled building materials Page inside left: (o.) corky46/Fotolia, (u.) Sandvik, tested Page inside m.: pics/Fotolia. All data obtained on the basis of the above-mentioned criteria of the quality assurance system must be Seite innen m., Graphs: (o.) eurostat, European statistics European market of quality- documented to ensure transparency for the client. (mineral waste, Recovery of 2004 and 2006), own cal- culations, (u.) Report to the European Commission DG assured recycled building materials XI.E.3 1999 and ETC/W questionnaire, National member associations and companies committing themselves in writing to observe this quality Page inside r.: Österreichischer Güteschutzverband guideline will be awarded the EQAR quality label for quality control systems. Recycling-Baustoffe (brv) EQAR – European Quality Association for Recycling e.V. | EQAR – European Quality Association for Recycling e. V. | EQAR – European Quality Association for Recycling e. V. | EQAR – European Quality Association for Recycling e. V. European targets of environmental By controlling the quality of recycled building mate- Recycling of building materials – rials on the basis of technological test criteria a high protection quality and an excellent suitability of them are ensu- for nature and climate protection! red. In addition, recycled building materials produced The global environmental situation To avoid waste the European Union laid down bin- in modern processing plants are more economic than ding recycling quota for the member states of the Eu- primary building materials. In the 21st century our planet faces new global, sus- ropean Union in the amended EU Waste Framework tainable and, in particular, ecological challenges. Until Directive which entered into force in 2010. The recy- The success story in the field of quality-assured recyc- 2025 the world population will increase to approx. 8 cling quota for construction and demolition waste is ling of building materials shows a high marketability billion people. on average to be increased to 70 % of the waste pro- of these products also as compared to natural stones duced until 2020. It is the aim to produce high-quality in many European countries such as Austria, Germa- Since 1960 the use of natural resources has increased construction products of construction waste in the ny, Italy, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Switzer- by 260 %. sense of a closed cycle. land. This is proved by their rising acceptance and de- mand by clients and authorities. In carrying through The climate change threatening due to an uncont- infrastructural measures in particular high-quality as rolled CO2 output shows also the problems associa- Recycling is indispensable well as economically beneficial recycled building ma- ted with an unhindered consumption of resources by terials are regularly used. the resource-intensive world economy. By a minimum recycling quota of 70 % environment will be protected in multiple respects. Less dumping 25 years of experience of the RAL quality community areas mean less use of landscape. High-quality recyc- in Germany show: at the beginning 87 million tons implementing complexes of rules and standards. Protection of resources required led building materials are an equally good substitute Recycling Rates of mineral wastes of unused mineral wastes are now processed into EQAR participates in preparing relevant draft laws for natural building materials, thus contributing to a 100% 78 million tons of high-quality mineral recycling on European level in the sense of environment and its According to data published by the European Envi- protection of landscape by reducing extraction areas 90% products. members. 80% ronment Agency [3] the consumption of primary ma- and pits respectively. 70% terials amounts to about 15 - 16 tons per person and 60% Waste was processed into new marketable, quality- EQAR aims at promoting and spreading a high-qua- year in the 15 EU member states. This consumption By recycling building materials on site or in the nearer 50% assured products and a new market was developed. lity processing of mineral construction waste in the of materials has adverse effects on environment in region finally big quantities of CO2 are saved which 40% Thus, a new market for recycled products is supplied sense of the environment. Recirculating it into the Europe as well as in other regions of the world, e.g. otherwise would be released by removing waste and 30% with construction waste. economic cycle means preserving the value of these 20% by the production of big quantities of waste. supplying natural building materials frequently over 10% resources. That is why high demands have to be ma- large distances. Thus, recycling of building materials 0% de on the quality of the products. Already in the foreseeable future primary building may also pay a remarkable contribution to climate Security for suppliers and users by quality materials may run short. The European Commission protection. control EQAR supports its members in ensuring high-quality requested to no longer destroy interconnected undis- (2006) Italy standards of their products. Spain (2006) Spain Ireland (2006) Ireland France (2006) France (2004) Austria Cyprus (2004) Cyprus Belgium (2006) Belgium Hungary (2006) Hungary Slowakia (2004) Slowakia Germany (2006) Germany turbed landscape areas by the extraction of primary (derived) Poland As a matter of course, the pollution limits for drinking Netherlands (2006) Netherlands raw materials. 04/06) (a.m. Portugal water fixed in the EU Drinking Water Directive 1998 As a lobbyist of European recycling of building mate- Big differences in the readiness to recycle in 04/06) (a.m. Denmark Czech Republic (2006) Republic Czech Europe (2006) Kingdom United have also to be considered. Against this background rials EQAR makes efforts to reach a high quality of For all these reasons a fast reorganization of the Eu- recycled building materials used in road construction the quality-controlled recycled building materials in ropean economy and, in particular, of construction in In construction the readiness to recycle differs remar- and civil engineering are checked for their environ- the sense of the environmental and resources protec- the sense of a recycling economy will be indispensab- kably in Europe. In Austria, Denmark, Germany and mental compatibility to give the customers the gua- tion. This