Secondary Materials in the European Aggregate Market – What is Feasible Now?

Other conference contribution, 2023

The take-make-waste linear economic model used across the globe for production is not sustainable considering the accepted definitions and goals for sustainable development. With sustainability goals in mind, new targets are being implemented across industries for the use of secondary materials, including in the mineral and aggregate industries. Yet, with projections for increasing demand for raw materials, there is also demand on raw material suppliers to increase production. This raises questions concerning how achievable targets are for secondary material supply, and where investments should be focused to meet targets.
With varying statistics on how much material is currently, or could be, recycled, there comes uncertainty over whether such targets are feasible. The purpose of this study is to assess the quality of data available concerning secondary material supply and where gaps exist through a mass flow analysis to identify where the largest hindrances could be, based on today’s conditions.