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Qualitymeansquantity
HerrWierichswent on: “EQAR’s offices
inBerlin andBrussels coordinate thework
beingperformedwithin the association
and its various committees. Their activities
and results are then the subject of regular
specialistmeetings andEQARgeneral
assemblies, which areheld, on an alternating
basis, inour different ‘member states’. For
instance, at the endof last September 2014,
at the initiative of our sponsoringmember
SandvikConstruction, wemet at their
production site formobileprocessingplants
inBallygawley,Northern Ireland."
In addition tobringing together national
recycling skills, EQAR is firmly involved
throughout Europe.What are the association’s
priorities here? In answer,HerrWierichs said:
“EQAR is lobbying for constructionmaterial
recyclingon apan-European level, both
politically and technically.We are in constant
dialoguewith the relevant environmental
and economicdepartments of theEU
Commission. Itsmembers, likemembers of
theEuropeanParliament andpoliticians from
theEUmember states, also regularly attend
EQAR’sEuropean constructionmaterial
recycling conventions.”
“We are represented in theEuropean
standards bodies by experts fromourmember
associations and theEuropean construction
industry federation, FIEC, towhich theEQAR
office inBrussels is affiliated.”
He continued: “Oneof EQAR’s central
demands has longbeen for aEuropean
regulation to endwaste and therefore
promote theproduct status of quality-
controlled recycled constructionmaterials.
As a contribution to this, EQAR’s technical
committeehas createdEuropeanquality
assurance for recycled constructionmaterials
involving independent third-partymonitoring
of technical and relevant environmental
properties.”
“Quality-assured recycled construction
materials arehighquality construction
productswhich, according to relevant
European standards on aggregates, canbe
usedwithout restriction in construction and
are innowaybehindprimary construction
materialswhen it comes to environmental
compatibility.”
He added: “TheEUCommissionwould
like to improve resource efficiency and enable
economic growth regardless of an increase
in the consumptionof resources. Expanding
recycling in the areaofmineral rawmaterials
is intended toprotect natural habitats and, as
far as possible, completely eliminatedumping
by2020."
"Specifically, theEUWasteFramework
Directive stipulates that, by then, 70%of
allmineralwastemust be recycled.We
welcome these targets, of course, but have
doubts about the current conditions for their
implementationwithin theplanned timescale
and scope.”
“Instead, we are currently registering
certainnegativedevelopments, such as for
instance, acutedumpingbottlenecks for
mineralwaste in some regions – including
evenEU states that alreadyhavehigh
recycling rates, such asGermany, for example.
Especially inbigprojectswith a large amount
of currently still “unclassified” construction
waste, thedisposal of this, oftenhundreds of
kilometres away, is leading to considerably
higher transport costs, unnecessary stress of
Since 2006, the EuropeanQuality Association
for Recycling (EQAR), has been committed
to the quality-focused recycling of mineral
waste and to recycled constructionmaterials
being recognised as effective, economical and
environmentally-friendly alternatives to primary
materials. Long-standing chairman of EQAR,
ManfredWierichs, and directorMarc-JohannBollig explain
the association’s objectives and the challenges it faces
INTERVIEW
W
hen asked about thebackground
toEQAR and its ongoing
objectives,ManfredWierichs
said: “EQARpromotes thehighquality
recyclingofmineral construction and
demolitionwaste at European level.We
want to achieve ahigh level of acceptance
for these recycled constructionmaterials,
from thepoint of viewof technical quality
in their applications, and also their absolute
environmental compatibility.Highquality
recycling technologies enable theproduction
of excellent aggregateswhich areusedmainly
as frost protection and as sub-bases for roads.”
EQAR currentlyhas some 30members,
including constructionmaterial recycling
associations andquality control associations
from Italy, Austria, Slovakia and theCzech
Republic andGermany. Recycling companies
from theNetherlands,UK, Ireland, Bosnia,
Poland andRussiahave joined as individual
members. Through internationally established
sponsoringmembers, EQAR is also in
close contactwith industry suppliers. The
excellent qualityof quality-assured recycled
constructionmaterials is basednot least on
ahighly efficient and innovativemachine
technology asmanufactured and soldby its
sponsoringmembers.
At the end of September 2014,
EQARmet at the Sandvik production
site formobile processing plant in
Ballygawley, Northern Ireland
