Please find here the June 2010 issue of FIR...

The Israeli Recycling Forum joins FIR.
Recycling of Construction & Demolition Waste (C&DW) is gaining interest in Israel. The need for proper management of this waste is felt. The industry on the other hand recognises the fact that C&DW is a valuable resource for all kinds of materials. Recycling companies in Israel have joined forces in the Israeli Recycling Forum. The Forum is looking for a joint approach to develop C&DW recycling. One goal is to form a collective partner for discussions with authorities. In its search for knowledge and expertise, the Forum has amongst others visited recycling plants in The Netherlands. Recently the Israeli Recycling Forum joined FIR. This is an important expansion of the recycling network that FIR has built so far.

The European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production carried out a study into the recycling rates of household waste and Construction- & Demolition Waste (C&DW). In many of the 18 countries that were investigated, the recycling rate for C&DW is more than 50%. Follow this link for more information.

4th National Congress for Demolition and Recycling - Zaragoza 2009

Every two years FIR organises its International Construction & Demolition Waste Recycling Conference. This conference is the meeting place where industry, authorities and science can exchange information and knowledge. The last conference was held in 2007 in Amsterdam. Our next conference takes place on 20 and 21 May in Zaragoza, Spain. For registration, visit the website http://www.congresorcd.com

Cyprian ministers

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6 December 2008:

Recycling at Cyprus - Cyprian authorities do care about the way in which waste is currently being “managed” at Cyprus. The Cyprian building association, the Federation of the Building Contractors Association of Cyprus (OSEOK) does care though. On 5 and 6 December is organized a conference for its members on the recycling of Construction- & Demolition Waste (C&DW).

Introduction speeches came from the Ministers of Home Affairs, from Communication & Labour and Finances and from the director of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture. The FIR, represented by Max de Vries, talked about developments in Europe in the area of recycling. Clearly, Europe wants to become a Recycling Society.

However, some less positive aspects of current developments were pointed at. A poor definition of what constitutes “recovery”, but also certain elements in the existing Landfill Directive, pose a threat to recycling. Martin Car of the Austrian recycling association for C&DW BRV (member of FIR) told about a proven waste management concept which was adopted by Malta and which is resulting in good progress. Panayiotis Alaveras of Waste Management Consultant (also member of FIR) from Greece took a look into the opportunities for C&DW recycling at Cyprus.

The second day of the conference was dedicated to practical issues. Panayiotis Alaveras gave an overview of recycling installations, recycling processes, recycling products and their use in for instance road construction. The conference has clearly shown that recycling opportunities exist in Cyprus. Nothing should stand in the way to tackle the issue of waste. Europe will call upon the authorities to take action; experts like the FIR are ready to assist them and also the recycling industry.

1 December 2008:

The European Commission confirms that recovered aggregates are articles.

This means that recycled aggregates need not be registered or pre-registered. An important achievement which FIR and EPRA have been fighting for. The European Commission has confirmed written that recovered aggregates are articles. This follows the respective announcement by Graham Willmott, Head of Unit G/1 REACH, DG Enterprise and Industry at the last UEPG Board Policy Dinner on 26 November.

Next steps: The current version of the guidance document contains the views of the Commission services only and cannot be regarded as the official position of the Commission. EPRA will contact the European Chemicals Agency for the final paper. We will keep you informed (through the official ways) about the further developments.

19 March 2008:

In February 2008 the European Aggregates Association (UEPG) and the International Recycling Federation (F.I.R.) launched the European Platform for Recycled Aggregates, EPRA. The mission of EPRA is to achieve the best use of recycled aggregates for the highest application possible.

UEPG represents 3 billion tons of aggregates production on 28,000 sites across Europe. In the view of UEPG, recycled aggregates constitute an important and sustainable additional source of raw materials. F.I.R. is the representative of the European recycling industry of Construction & Demolition Waste. The aim of F.I.R. is to promote the recycling of this waste stream in Europe and to improve the quality of recycled products.

The European Platform for Recycled Aggregates is intended to be a platform for those organisations which endorse its mission. EPRA will contribute to those developments which are of relevance to its aims. Specifically EPRA will represent the interest of recycled aggregates in the course of the development of new policy and legislation and in the development of technical standards. This new initiative will contribute to the increase in recycling of Construction and Demolition Waste and the development of the use of products derived from it.