Our scholarship holder Pauline Jegen recently attended the PLATE 2023 Conference in Finland, where she gave a presentation entitled ‘Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: Analysis of the Use of RC Concrete in Precast Production’.

The construction industry and the associated demolition of buildings and infrastructure facilities represent the largest waste stream in Germany. The resulting mineral construction and demolition waste (CDW) can be recycled and used to produce new building materials by replacing natural aggregates. Taking into account the principles of the circular economy, the use of prefabricated parts offers many advantages. At the end of their primary use, they can be reused and do not necessarily have to be recycled. A bottom-up approach is used to analyse material flows and determine how much primary material is available in Germany and how much demand there is.

The scientific value of this research lies in the development of holistic circular economy solutions in the construction industry, with the aim of conserving primary resources such as gravel and sand and reducing CO2 emissions by extending product lifetimes.