The construction and demolition waste consist of inert material, most of which are recyclable. These constituents can be classified as:

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1 1. Layman s Report (English Version) INTRODUCTION Construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) constitute a high proportion of solid waste in urban areas. The large amount of construction and demolition waste could be attributed to a number of facts. Nowadays, besides construction projects, demolition projects are carried out, regarding buildings that are old and/or damaged from earthquakes or buildings that are to be replaced by qualitatively and aesthetically upgraded constructions. In the process of building demolition, structural elements, such as concrete, bricks, steel material and others could be transported to specialized production units and be recycled, producing raw material that could be used for new products. The most important demolition material, however, regards the reinforced concrete, brick walls, glass, plastic, asphalt, etc., this, can also be recycled, producing new construction material. The construction and demolition material can derive from: 1. Construction and renovation works 2. Material from demolition works 3. Demolition works The construction and demolition waste consist of inert material, most of which are recyclable. These constituents can be classified as: 1. Inert material (concrete, bricks, asphalt, glass, etc.) 2. Timber waste 3. Steel, iron and non-iron metals 4. Material as paper, aluminium, plastic, etc. THE SITUATION IN THE E.U. AND IN GREECE From the 2 million tons of construction and demolition waste estimated to be annually produced in Greece, less than 5% is recycled and reutilised, whereas in the European Union Countries almost 30% of the relevant annual production (more than 300 million tons) is recycled. Almost all C&D waste ends up in uncontrolled deposition areas, burdening the environment, the soil, as well as the underground

2 water. Disposal of C&D waste in landfills highly reduces the volume and therefore the operation length of them. In Greece, there is a lack of reliable quantitative analysis data regarding the building and residents demolition material. An analytic study should be carried out for any specific building demolition project so that valid conclusions are reached regarding the economical expediency of a controlled demolition, material collection, recycling and reutilization. Considering the increasing rate of demolition works in Greece, it is of vital importance that methods are employed or developed for the management and recycling of the demolition waste, as well as for its reutilisation. LEGISLATION FRAMEWORK The implementation of Law 2939 regarding inert material-waste disposal sets the legislation framework for its collection and utilization. It aims at the implementation of articles 15, 16, 17, 18, 23 and 24 of Law 2939/01 so that with the prevention of waste production from construction work, technical infrastructure work, excavation, physical and technological disasters, as well as with such waste reutilisation and recycling, it will be possible to reduce the amount of disposed waste and improve the environmental performance of all the economic factors that participate in construction and technical work and, specifically, of those that participate directly in their management. It is also emphasized that the people responsible for excavation, construction and demolition waste management are the producers of this waste, who are obligated to organize individual systems of alternative management or to participate in relevant joint systems. In the framework of Law 2939 implementation, as many construction and demolition and, especially, inert material as possible should be recycled, whereas high fines will be imposed to those that will not implement the relevant legislation. Rendering those involved sensitive is of vital importance, in order to create and render viable appropriate system of collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and reutilisation of C&DW. TARGETS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMM Considering the increasing rate of demolition works in Greece and the implementation of Law 2939, it is of vital importance that methods are employed or developed for the management and recycling of the demolition waste, as well as for its reutilisation. One of the issues raised after the earthquake in the areas of the Municipalities of Ano Liosia and Menidi in September, 1999, regarded the management and disposal of the inert material produced from the demolition of damaged buildings. Besides the physical catastrophes, the amount of demolition material in the wider area of Athens increases constantly due to a great number of running

3 public projects for the 2004 Athens Olympics, raising the waste management as an urgent and imperative environmental issue. The application of an environmentally correct waste management with recycling application was the goal of the programm entitled Earthquake Construction and Demolition Management in the Municipality of Ano Liosia, code number LIFE 00 ENV/GR/000739, which was financed by LIFE Environment of the E.U. The construction company TOMI ATE in co-operation with the Austrian construction company BILFINGER BERGER Baugesellschaft m.b.h. and the Ano Liosia Municipal Technical company run a pilot programm from 1/1/2002 until 30/6/2003, and regarded the construction of a pilot unit for C&D waste management and recycling of inert material in the area of Ano Liosia Municipality. LIFE 00 ENV/GR/ with a total budget of had the following basic objectives: The demonstration of environmentally acceptable C&D waste management The development of C&D waste management by adopting state of the art technologies already applied in other E.U. countries The reduction of non-renewable resources use such as quarry products The evaluation of potential markets for recyclable inert material The utilization of inert material in order to benefit the local community The minimization of illegal, uncontrolled dumping of demolition waste DESCRIPTION OF DEMONSTRATION UNIT AND RESULTS The unit was installed within the landfill at Ano Liosia and had the ability to process C&D waste, and especially heavy material (concrete, bricks), since the remaining light material (aluminum, etc.) are usually removed prior to the demolition. The capability of the unit is 300 tons, per day. The demolition management and recycling unit that was designed and operated for the scope of LIFE 00 ENV/GR/ and consisted of the following parts: Incoming material temporary storage area, ensuring constant unit operation and adequacy Mixed material separation area (Personnel employed for separation by hand, as well as for crushing large concrete pieces with the use of hydraulic scissors) Crusher-Screening unit-conveyor belts Final product storage area Remaining steel waste storage area

4 View of the Demonstration Demolition Waste Recycling Plant of the Programm LIFE 00 ENV/GR/ Additionally, the unit has containers for the personnel, a control unit, spare-part storehouse and workshop. The C&D waste is transported to the unit in tracks or containers, which, entering the unit, they are weight on a weighbridge. Incoming, as well as final products weighing are recorded in a computer programme, which has been especially developed for the unit and enables total integrated management of the Plant including statistical processing and analysis of all data of the system as well as reporting system. The programm also enables on-line monitoring of the unit from the Headquarters. After weighing, material is temporarily stored and separated by hand, whereas large concrete pieces are crushed into smaller so that they can be fed in the crusher. The crusher was designed in accordance to the feasibility study, the cost-benefit analysis and the market research that was carried during the design of the unit.

5 Feeding and dosing hopper of the material to be crushed The following screening phase produces both smaller granulate material (0-16 mm) and medium-size fraction (16-32 mm), which end up to different piles, whereas the remaining material returns to the crusher, for further processing. If required, larger fractions can be produced. The final products are properly stored until disposal to the market. Vibrating Screen for the separation of the aggregate fraction products The technical benefits of the recycling unit are multiple such as: Independency in operation Total unit control through software system especially designed for this application (quantities, type of waste, statistical evaluation, diagram, inventory) Totally automated operation and direct interference in case of emergency

6 Mobile crushing and screening unit Flexibility in capacity and products size Production of homogenous shaped products Final products from the waste treatment in the Plant

7 A block diagram presenting the process steps of the Plant is presented bellow : Incoming weighing Prototype management system <50mm mainly earth material, dirt, bricks Temporary storage of mixed waste Hand sorting section (sorting of recyclables) Breaking of oversize concrete slabs Crushing Basic sorting of waste type (concrete, bricks etc) Recyclables (mainly wood) Magnetic Separation Recovered Ferrous Input data Material Flow Product fractions 0-16 mm, mm Screening of crushed material

8 During full operation period, the pilot unit totally processed (without charging the waste delivery subcontractors) approximately tons of mixed C&D waste with the following incoming average composition: Reinforced concrete 75% Bricks and plaster 20% Recyclables (mainly wood) and dirt 5% Average Jan-June 2003 Bricks&Plaster 20% Wood& Residues 5% Concrete 75% The Plant average output from the full operation period, in terms of products, was the following: 7% 2% ferrous steel offered to independent recyclers wood offered to independent recyclers 34% fraction 0-16 mm was reused (mixed with fraction mm) and was offered as aggregate material for temporary road construction in the nearby landfill 22% fraction mm was reused (mixed with fraction mm) and was offered as aggregate material for temporary road construction in the nearby landfill 35% fraction <50mm, mainly earth material, dirt and broken brick pieces offeres to the nearby sanitary landfill to be used as daily cover material together with other earth material

9 <50 36% Total average product distribution Wood 2% 0-16mm 33% Iron Steel 7% 16-32mm 22% There are multiple capabilities of utilizing the final products: Earth and road works Building construction Internal road works in landfills Land filling Drainage layers (landfills) Tests during the execution of the Project proved that the final products were of accepted quality for recycling applications. ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS The environmental benefits from developing and operating C&D waste management units such as the pilot unit of LIFE 00 ENV/GR/ are multiple: Environmental protection and preservation of natural resources by re-using recyclable aggregates instead of quarry products Reformation of waste management network (collection and disposal) by implementing strict specifications according to environmental legislation Reduction of the uncontrolled, illegal dumping Preservation of valuable space in sanitary landfills Recultivation of quarries by re-using final products according to appropriate specifications

10 UNIT OPERATIONAL COST / BENEFIT According to cost data that was collected during the project, the viability of a C&D waste management unit highly depends on its capacity (considered to be above tons/year) as well as on a gate fee for the incoming C&D waste (estimated at 1,8-2,0 Euro/ton of incoming material) and further to possible revenues that could arise from selling the final products 0-16 mm and mm. Due to likely initial distrust in regards to their quality, a reasonable period of time is required for recyclable products to gain market value. In any case, the aggregate material price should not be higher than market price of quarry products; on the contrary the recyclable products prices should be lower and thus competitive. The aforementioned prices do not include transportation costs of the products whereas operational costs (personnel, maintenance, fuel) and depreciation costs for the initial invested capital are included. Apart from significant environmental benefits, operating C&D waste management units also contributes to society (new job opportunities, improvement of living standards) and to the national economy (new investment opportunities, development of peripheral business activities, etc). TRANSFERABILITY OF THE PROJECT As project LIFE 00 ENV/GR/ was carried out and Law 2939 was to be voted, various trends appeared for establishment of larger scale C&D waste management units with higher capacity in Attica region, where almost 34% of the total C&D waste quantity is produced. The operational costs of a unit, the significant environmental benefits (enviromental protection and preservation of natural resources) and the potential implementation of Law 2939 (environmental legislation framework that will encourage similar actions and ensure the integrate C&D waste management) are estimated to accelerate the development of Recycing Units. Especially for islands or distant areas, where only occassional demolition works are executed and a unit can not be viable, a mobile unit, similar to that of LIFE 00 ENV/GR/000739, can cover the need for recycling. Dissemination activities and presentation of results raised many inquiries to the people and the parties that are involved in waste management business. Further to technical economical analysis and assuming that stict implementation of environmental legislation is granted, conclusions for the viability of a C&D waste recycling unit are positive. The use of hi-tech equipment and software guarantee an optimal monitoring of operation and efficiency of the unit by occupying minimum employees. Integrate C&D waste management could be also supported by supplementary regulations such as introduction of specifications for utilisation of recycled products in large scale public works, a fact that

11 would strengthen the establishment and development of a market for the final recycled products. Recultivation of inactive quarries in Attica Region could be another alternative action for absorbing all final products. INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAMM Information about the programm, results, photographs from the demonstration unit, data for contacts with the Program participants as well as information for LIFE - Environment Program can be found in the dedicated web site