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The International Recycling Federation (FIR) was founded in 1990. An important mission was to influence the development of proper legislation and regulation for Construction & Demolition Waste (C&DW) on a European level. FIR has developed into a strong team of associations and companies. It counts six national organizations of recycling companies among its members. Also several individual companies from different countries are members of FIR. Management of construction and demolition waste no longer is a matter of national interest. Sustainable development is a matter of concern to all inhabitants of the European Union. Development of the internal market and further integration of economy and ecology also indicate that promotion of interest should take place on an international level. An important task of FIR is the promotion of its members interests in the European context. European legislation does not yet facilitate sufficiently the actual recycling of construction and demolition waste, although policy is requiring so.
The need for recycling
Waste from construction and demolition constitutes one of the largest waste streams in Europe. It is a priority waste stream requiring proper waste management. In many countries recycling plants have been built. It is estimated that the C&DW recycling industry currently employs about 45.000 people in Europe. The total recycling performance in the European Union however shows that improvement must take place. The average recycling percentage is estimated to be about 30% of 450 million tons of waste arising annually. Regarding the landfill space that is filled up and the fact that valuable natural resources could be preserved, this calls for further measures to promote recycling. The benefits of C&DW recycling have for instance been investigated by the German institute Prognos. According to this study, recycling of C&DW can avoid 10.3 – 17.5 Mton CO2 in Europe annualy. |