Building from the Old: Aggregate Industries Introduces Circular Construction Project in UK

Aggregate Industries, parts of Holcim, want to make construction more circular with the introduction of ECOCycle in the UK. This project aim is to make more circular construction reducing its use of natural resources and building new from old and is being introduced in the UK in a phased approach across the five different divisions that make up the business.

Being rolled out globally by the Holcim network, ECOCycle categorises products that have been manufactured with at least 10 percent Construction Demolition Materials (CDM), ensuring nothing is wasted. The circular approach is applied to products which contain at least 10% CDM content, following an independent verification, to ensure they are compliant with the applicable clauses of ISO14021:2016. Products with ECOCycle inside can contain anywhere from 10 to 100% of recycled materials inside. This can also be applied to plants that are capable of processing recycled materials.

It will be applied firstly to its asphalt and surfacing product lines, including solutions such as its Foamix product which contains 92 percent of recycled content. A total of 31 of its asphalt plants have been verified to manufacture products with ECOCycle inside. It will also be applied to part of its aggregates portfolio focused on the materials produced through its Sivyer recycling hubs in London and across five of its readymix concrete plants in London and the Midlands.

In the UK last year Aggregate Industries processed 1.5 million tonnes of CDM which were recycled into new products.

Kaziwe Kaulule, Aggregate Industries UK’s Managing Director of Aggregates, said:

“Our goal in the UK is to build new from the old. With the world seeing the equivalent of a city the size of New York built every month due to rapid population growth and urbanization, It is imperative to adopt innovative solutions that balance environmental conservation with the needs of expanding cities. We are at the forefront of driving circular construction in the UK and with ECOCycle we can be a vital part in building sites from existing locations, recycling 100% of the demolition materials used in construction into new solutions. With ECOCycle, we not only conserve natural resources but also minimise waste by reusing demolition materials into valuable assets for construction projects.”