Construction and demolition waste, together with a large quantity of excavation waste, accounts for 25%–30% of all waste generated in the EU and causes about 2% of the overall environmental footprint of a building. A product’s end of life is an important topic in the construction sector, particularly because plastic products at their end of life can still be valuable resources. The Treacy family considers plastic to be too valuable to end up in the environment. At the end of their life, plastics must be collected and recovered, so they can be recycled to become other products, transformed into chemical raw materials or used as a source of energy instead of virgin fossil fuels.

The objective of the broad plastics industry is to achieve zero plastics sent to landfills and 100% recovery of plastic waste (read more about – for instance – the zero plastics to landfill commitment by PlasticsEurope). Massive efforts are necessary to ensure waste collection and our industry targets a world free of plastic waste (read more about the work of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste). Our industry is also committed to increasing the uptake of recycled plastics in newly produced materials while maintaining product quality and safety (read more about – for example – the work of the Circular Plastics Alliance).

We have undertaken strong efforts to enhance the recovery and regeneration of our plastic products at the end of their service life. To do so, the development of new value chains and practices is needed across all phases (deconstruction, sorting and recycling).

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The construction industry is one of the world’s largest consumers of energy and raw materials. This is taking its toll on the environment: in the EU, construction is responsible for around 40% of CO2 emissions and nearly a third of all waste. But shifting from a linear to a circular economy would bring huge ecological improvements. What’s more, innovative new business models will account for an additional global market opportunity of more than €600 billion by 2025, with a double-digit growth rate.

Recent years have seen a growth in  innovative circular economy business models throughout the construction value chain that drive sustainable development and growth. These start in the planning phase, where building information modelling and real-time information sharing software optimizes design, reduces clashes, and provides increased transparency for clients and design teams. From there, a rapidly growing portfolio of renewable and recycled materials can be combined with efficient new construction methods such as 3D printing and prefabrication. Recycling of key materials at all stages can minimize waste. During operation, digital tools can drastically improve energy efficiency and utilization of space, as well as enabling smart predictive maintenance to extend a building’s life. At the end of life, upcycling keeps materials in use.