Circular economy in Basque Country

Circular economyin Basque Country

Demonstration projects for reusing materials

© Ihobe, Publicly-owned Environmental Management Company

September 2014

Published byihobe, Publicly-owned environmental Management CompanyMinistry of the Environment and Territorial PolicyBasque GovernmentAlda. Urquijo, 36 – 6º Planta- 48011 Bilbaowww.ihobe.eus - www.ingurumena.eusTel.: 900 15 08 64

design and layout dualxj comunicación&diseño

ContentThis document has been prepared by the technical team of the Basque Government’s Ministry for the Environment and its environmental management company, Ihobe.

The contents of this book, in this edition, are published under licence: Recognition – Non Commercial – No Derivatives Works 3.0 Unported from Creative Commons (further information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.es_ES).

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Index

1 Preface 4

2 Introduction 5

3 Policy framework and context 6

3,1 European framework 6

3.2 Basque framework 6

3.3 Bridging the valley of death between R&D and the market solution 9

3.4 An integral baseline approach 10

3.5 Demonstration projects, an instrument to drive the circular economy 12

4 Results obtained in 8 projects 14

5 Demonstration projects and the perception of the participating companies 24

6 Conclusions and final assessment 25

Circular economy in Basque Country

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1 Preface

The Basque economy is currently intensive in resources from abroad and 75% dependent on imports. Waste generation accounts for around 7% of the total consumption of tons of raw materials, i.e. 4.2 million tons per year. In return, productivity has risen in just ten years from generating 1.5 to 2.9 euros for each kilogram of material used, which shows that our industry is increasingly more eco-efficient.

The Circular Economy is a priority in the European Union as established in the Roadmap to a Resource-efficient Europe and the recently published plan of the European Commission “Moving towards a Circular economy: a Zero Waste Programme for europe” Com (2014) 398. For the Basque Country as well, driving the circular economy means detecting new business opportunities and solutions that require public-private partnership for the greening of manufacturing, products, consumption and end-of-life.

Overcoming the end-of-life of waste fundamentally involves implementing instruments aimed at creating demand, i.e., creating or improving market instruments and regulatory instruments. Many of the solutions already technically developed by R&D are still not available on the market as they need to bridge the so-called valley of death, where demand by the end customer is fundamental.

The new Basque Waste Prevention and Management Plan 2002 aims not only to increase recovery by 10 points to at least 60%, but also to strengthen the value of the new materials obtained, an “upcycling” that generates business initiatives.

Looking ahead to this scenario, we have been trying out innovative initiatives that enable the availability of new waste recovery solutions. One of the most important is the one that we are showcasing in this document, the Call for “Circular economy demonstration Projects” that we have been piloting as the Basque Government’s Ministry for the Environment and Territorial Policy, through Ihobe, since 2011. The results obtained confirm that it is a valid line of work to be consolidated.

What is more, this process has shown that much more is involved than merely funding technical projects. Private-public partnership is essential in the majority of solutions. The public sector can improve the framework and the playing field so that the real costs of waste are taken on board. The ban on dumping waste streams with recovery solutions, the intervention in the Integrated Environmental Permits of the IPPC Directive to encourage the circular economy, the development of specific environmental-technical legislation regulating new product uses based on recycled material or the driving of Green public procurements of materials and products from waste are measures that we plan to firmly drive in the new Waste Plan and which can shift the balance once and for all towards the circular economy and the use of materials contained in waste.

Javier agirre orcajogeneral Manager Ihobe, Publicly-owned Environmental Management CompanyMinistry of the Environment and Territorial PolicyBasque Government

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2 introduction

This document seeks to provide an overview of the framework and the results obtained of the first eight circular economy projects completed in the framework of the Call for “demonstration Projects to reintroduce materials and products on the market by recovering waste” which started in 2011. After a summary of the results obtained by a set of 8 projects and the presentation of preliminary conclusions, the fundamental aspects of each of the Demonstration Projects driven by the Call were pinpointed, with an emphasis on the following fields:

l Entities participating in the project and role played by each of them.

l Environmental problem that the aim is to rectify /minimise by means of the delivery of the project.

l Opportunity to be seized by means of the delivery of the project (competitive improvement linked to the implementation of a new policy line, optimising existing resources, etc.).

l Technical description of the main milestones and phases (actions) that have taken place during the delivery of the project.

lMain results arising from the delivery of the project: economic, technical and environmental.

lFuture forecasts.

Demonstration projects in figures

l 8 demonstration projects implemented to seach for viable alternatives to waste streams from construction ,paper, waste management and plastic sectors.

l 6 groundbreaking mature environmental viable and economic-technical circular economy solutions to offer the market using decisions based on the projects.

l Development of technical criteria for the public activation of the market resulting in 2 improvements to environmental-technical legislation. And expansion of 2 Public Procurement Criteria categories.

l 100% of companies satisfied with the support of the project by the Basque Government’s Ministry for the Environment and Territorial Policy through Ihobe.

l Competitiveness forecast to increase in 62% participating companies due to the project implemented.


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3 Policy framework and context

3.1 – european framwork

The “Roadmap to a Resource efficient europe”, as part of the European Commission Europe 2020 Strategy, has set the milestone that by 2020 “waste is managed as a resource. Recycling and re-use of waste are economically attractive options for the public and private actors due to widespread selection collection and the development of functional markets for secondary raw materials. More materials, including materials having a significant impact on the environment and critical raw materials, are recycled. Energy recovery is limited to non recyclable materials, landfilling is virtually eliminated and high quality recycling is ensured”.

It also establishes actions for the European Commissions, such as stimulating secondary material markets and the demand for recycled materials offering economic incentives and developing criteria to determine when waste stops being so.

On the other hand, the seventh general union environment action Programme 2013- 2020 “Living well, within the limits of our planet” (Decision 1386/2013/EU of the European Parliament) establishes as priority second objective to turn the European Union into a resource-efficient, green and competitive low-carbon economy, fully assuming the tenets of the former “Roadmap to a Resource efficient europe” in its Article No. 40.

The other major European initiative is known as “an integrated industrial policy for the globalisation era”, updated in October 2012 by the “A Stronger European Industry for Growth and Economic Recovery“ Communication COM(2012) 582 final. It establishes six priority lines of action, including a “Sustainable industrial policy, construction and raw materials” that drives,

among others, the “development of stable recycling markets and extended producer responsibility schemes, with the aim of moving towards a circular economy”.

These policies have been strengthened with the recent publication of the European Commission programme “towards a Circular economy: a zero waste programme for europe”, in which it rightly stresses the role of the authorities in creating markets for recycled materials through standards, green public procurement and the progressive ban of landfilling for which the relevant technical solutions must naturally have been developed.

3.2 – basque country

In the Basque Country, an appropriate geographical sphere to deploy the circular economy given its small size and

3 – Policy framework and context

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high industrial and population density, we highlight that the basque Country environment Framework Programme CaPV 2011-2014, currently under review for the launch of the new period, had already established “to foster the efficient use of resources and responsible consumption” as a third Strategic Objective . There have fundamentally been two key policy areas to deliver this strategic objective. First of all, improving the efficient of the Basque productive fabric that leads to “Improving the total material productivity of the Basque economy by 4%” and second, cutting waste generation that is embodied in the seventh Operational Objective “to increase the material recovery of the industrial non-hazardous and hazardous waste by 5% respectively”.

One of the policy lines specifically expressed in Operational Objective No. 7 is precisely to “Foster R&D&i projects to develop alternatives for waste that is difficult to recover such as production process changes, replacement of raw materials, closing cycles, investigating new recovery channels, analysing biotechnology possibilities or recycling strategic materials. Develop technological demonstration projects, by encouraging public-private partnership”.

This line of work was included in the different Hazardous 2008-2011 and the Non-Hazardous Waste 2009-2012 Plans, by means of more specific actions such as:

l Driving new hazardous waste recovery alternatives by means of R&D&i and Best Available Technologies.

l Establishing specific goals for each waste stream among the non-hazardous ones, also defining specific measures aimed at establishing new waste recovery alternatives.

The new Waste Prevention and Management Plan for the autonomous Community of the basque Country 2014-2020 envisages a greater emphasis to evolve in the waste management hierarchy, with a strong

commitment to prevention, reusing, recycling and recovery at the expense of elimination options.

The new Plan, which is based on the principle of the circular economy, will contemplate the demonstration projects as a key tool to evolve to a new management status, in order to deliver the objectives of the Plan, particularly objective No. 3 aimed at “increasing the preparation for the reuse, recycling and recovering of waste up to 60% by 2020, solving the main problems of the baC”.

In short, the aim is to ensure a definitive quantitative and qualitative jump in improving the waste management indicators in the Basque Country and therefore in the management of natural resources indicators. The planned demonstration projects, whose budget would reach 12.5% of the total envisaged for the Plan, are fundamentally based on three lines of action:

l Developing demonstration projects that foster waste prevention by transferring the successful results to the sectors in question.

l Analysing option to recover rolling waste, machining sludge, refractory waste, light fraction from scrap vehicle shredding, WEEE, non-ferric slag and hazardous containers, along with other non-hazardous waste (bio-waste, construction and demolition waste, steelworks slag, wastewater treatment plant sludge, end-of-life tyres and vehicles, etc.).

l Updating the methodology of the Basque Clean Technologies List and the incorporation of the promoted technologies.

The sectoral snapshot of industrial waste generated in the Basque Country shows that nearly 2.8 million tons a year are generated and 49% is dumped in landfills. The thermal processes of the metallurgy industry is the sector that heads the generation with 47% of total waste.


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In terms of specific streams, steelworks slag accounts for the greatest flow and has a recycling rate of 51%. Paper-pulp sludge with 59% recycling is in second position while timber waste has 79% recycling and scrap metal with 87% recycling practically share third place, while wastewater processing sludge with 50% energy recovery and casting

sands with 34% recycling make up the waste group that exceed 100,000 generation tons a year.

An estimated nearly 1,300,000 tons in 2010 of demolition and construction waste generated have to be added to those streams.

eWC* source sector of the wasteRecycling

(tm/y)

energyRecovery

(tm/y)

disposal in landfill

(tm/y)

total (tm/y)

%

03 Timber and Paper Sector 320,259 47,973 211,249 579,482 20.74%

04 Leather and Textile 29 2,223 2,252 0.08%

05 Oil, Natural Gas and Coal 157 157 0.01%

06 Inorganic chemical processes 219 8,601 8,820 0.32%

07 Organic chemical processes 5,018 26,576 31,594 1.13%

08 Paper, Adhesives and Inks 5,801 615 6,417 0.23%

09 Photographic Industry 5 5 0.00%

10 Thermal processes 639,793 688,860 1,328,653 47.55%

11 Chemical surface treatment 1,472 122 1,594 0.06%

12 Physical surface treatment 135,188 37,833 173,022 6.19%

15 Containers and absorbents 57,898 14,697 72,594 2.60%

16 Others 14,642 10,817 54,877 80,336 2.88%

19 Water and waste treatment 106,404 69,479 329,629 505,512 18.09%

total 1,286,728 128,269 1,379,201 2,794,197 100.00%

Percentage 46.05% 4.59% 49.36% 100.00%

table 1

Non-hazardous waste management and generation of the BAC (2010) by industrial sectors in tons. Waste of the food and primary sectors has not been considered in this inventory. The table therefore does not contain information on the EWC 02, as they are excluded in the scope of application of Act 22/2011. Neither is Construction and Demolition Waste included.

eWC Main streamsRecycling

%

energyRecovery

%

landfill%

total 2010 (tm/y)

10 Steelworks slag 51% 49% 910,367

03 Paper-pulp sludge 59% 41% 221,288

03 Sawdust and wood shavings 79% 13% 8% 180,620

10-17 Scrap metal 87% 13%1 179,070

19 Waste water treatment sludge 5% 50% 45% 139,437

10 Casting sands 34% 66% 133,382

table 2

Waste management of the main non-hazardous streams in the BAC (2010) in tons/year.

1 Recycling of scrap metal in 2010 (87 %) was lower than in previous years (94% in 2009). This drop in recycling can be linked to the apparent reduction seen in scrap metal generation mainly as part of the scrap metal is managed as by-product and not as waste. However, the scrap metal that is eliminated continues to be managed as waste and the recycling percentage of scrap metal declared as waste falls.


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3.3 – bridging the “Valley of death” between R&d and the market solution

The “Valley of Death” is an internationally recognised term, that defines the difficulty for research and development (R&D) projects to be turned into practical solutions for the market.

As has been established in the “Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative Innovation Union”, one of the core areas of the Europe 2020 Strategy, “there are a number of major market gaps. During the technology transfer and start-up phase, new companies face a “valley of death” where public research grants stop and it is not possible to attract private finance. Public support aiming to leverage private seed and start-up funds to fill this gap is currently too fragmented and intermittent or its management lacks the necessary expertise”.

Bridging the “valley of death” for groundbreaking circular economy alternatives means establishing mechanisms that combat a series of risks, including:

l technical risks. The change of scale of a technology or the adapting of a technical solution developed in another field of company to a specific case involves difficulties and risks that are undervalued on many occasions. Their rigorous solving is the baseline for a new circular economy alternative

l environmental risks. The integral environmental vision must ensure that a problem is not transferred from one scenario to another, that the global balance continues to be positive (particularly in the balance between energy consumption and waste reduction) or that unknown problems are not created when the new products reach their end-of-life

l Regulatory-legislative risks. The managers of the new solutions generally need environmental-administrative permits, public backing for a waste to be considered as a by-product or even its full declassification, etc, that fully affect a business decision.

THE "VALLEY OF DEATH"

R&D

BRIDGING RISKS

MA

RK

ET

EC

ON

OM

IC

REG

ULA

TOR

Y-LE

GIS

LAT

IVE

EN

VIR

ON

ME

NTA

L

TE

CH

NIC

AL

MARKETSOLUTION

FiguRe 1

Bridging the Valley of Death”.


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l Financing and economic risks. The economic feasibility of the solution must be clearly guaranteed and it is the base of the business line that must prevail. The financial plan of the new solution must likewise be viable.

l Market risks. A groundbreaking solution has its main barrier in its market penetration. Awareness of the initiative, the confidence that it generates by a public endorsement, the establishing of market conditions or appropriate environmental standards by the authorities is particularly relevant for the new circular economy alternatives.

The Ministry for the Environment and Territorial Policy detected, after listening to companies and after conducting the Ihobe “Barriers to the Transfer of EcoInnovative Technologies in the BAC” study prepared by TNO, the Dutch Institute, the need for public backing for carrying out in-factory industrial

tests that would facilitate the launch on the market of new solutions based on materials from waste as one of the incentives that so far, unlike the support for R&D, do not exist in the BAC.

3.4 – an integral baseline approach

Based on the structure that the European Environment Agency (EEA) uses to define resource efficiency in their regular reports on the state of the environment (SOER), specifically the “Consumption and the Environment: 2012 update of the State of the Environment” establishes an integral cycle that relates production with products and their consumption and end-of-life.

The Circular Economy Demonstration Projects, headed by private initiatives, are directly related with transforming materials

FiguRe 2

The Sustainable Consumption and Production system with an integral circular economy approach, relating the technical solution (Demonstration Project) with driving demand.

PRODUCTEND OF LIFE

PRODUCTION

CIRCULAR ECONOMYDEMONSTRATION PROJECTS

PUBLIC DRIVINGDEMAND

CONSUMPTION


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that are generated in the end-of-life or in the production processes in new value products that, in general, likewise require prior transformation processes.

Those projects become really important when they are combined with demand being driven by the public administration by means of the different instruments such as establishing new environmental-technical legislation, fostering green public procurement or promoting new green solutions validated by the competent authority.

This dynamic of private-public partnership projects providing solutions for the country’s problems and facilitating the developing of new private business lines includes five conditioning factors that need to be met to optimise the success of the work.

The five conditioning factors of a demonstration project are:

1. The environmental relevance of the problem

2. The existence of prior technical knowledge

3. The proven environmental and economic-technical viability

4. The public role to activate the market

5. The availability of the groundbreaking solution on the market

First, apart from a specific environmental challenge or problem existing for a specific company regarding waste, it must be a current or future relevant circular economy opportunity for the whole of a geographical area.

Second, to be considered a Demonstration Project aimed at bridging the “Valley of Death”, prior to the project there must be a sound pre-selection of alternatives to be assessed, which have to be reached after:

FiguRe 3

Five stages to establish new viable solutions on the waste recovery market.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS"PRIVATE-PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP"

ENVIRONMENTALPROBLEM

RELEVANCE

TECHNICALKNOWLEDGE

or R&DEXISTING

SOLUTIONAVAILABLE

ON MARKET

PUBLIC ROLETO ACTIVATE

DEMAND

TECHNICAL- ECONOMIC-ENVIRONMENTAL

VIABILITY DEMONSTRATED


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l a Research & Development (R&D) base,

l or at least, exhaustive knowledge, relating to the potential technical solutions to be applied in each case.

Third, there must be a clear technical solution hypothesis, where the aim will be to confirm its environmental, economic and technical viability during the real or industrial tests. It is really the Demonstration Project as such.

Fourthly, it is important for there to be a public role to activate the demand for the solution or the new products on the market. A ban on dumping a type of waste in an authorised landfill with respect to streams show recovery is delivered thanks to the projects, developments of new environmental-technical standards or of end-of-life criteria for waste, defining new Green Public Procurement criteria that favour the acquisition of the alternatives reached, new action/decision procedures for the Administration, the administrative endorsement of new circular economy solution alternatives or the widespread

promotion of a best practice, are some of the instruments that must be defined and driven case by case.

Fifth and finally, the cycle is closed with the availability of a circular economy solution on the market, i.e., a business activity that generates jobs and economic activity.

3.5 – demonstration projects, an instrument to drive the circular economy

The purpose of the first call of 2011, “Circular economy and waste recovery demonstration projects” was to confirm both the validity of a programme of these characteristics and to directly drive the availability of new circular economy solutions on the market.

This call had three operational goals:

l Consolidate new economically and environmentally viable waste recovery technical solutions, relevant for the Basque Country Waste Plan. If a new recovery

www.irekia.euskadi.net


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alternative provides an integral solution for a waste stream, the ban of dumping this stream in landfill or establishing a coercive rate would be considered.

l Help to develop protocol and criteria endorsed by the authorities that encourage other companies to commit to those new by-product and waste recovery challenges.

l Promote and transfer the experiences towards potential private and public purchasers so that the waste recovery rates are really increased.

In line with what has been stated above, the key criteria for the Ministry to back the implementation of a circular economy demonstration project, with public funding up to 70%, a maximum of €30,000 and constant and close collaboration and monitoring were:

l The existence of a recovery problem in the Basque Country and a high potential to transfer the solution in the BAC.

l Good knowledge of alternative solutions and a high knowledge and/or R&D base on which to work.

l Need to show in factory the environmental and economic-technical viability prior to taking an effective solution in the market.

l A plausible role of the Administration regarding establishing mechanisms to promote the new solution on the market (best practices, Green Public Procurement, end-of-life criteria, orders banning dumping, permits, etc.).

l The clear intention to set up a private initiative offering the solution of the market if the viability and driving on the market is confirmed.

The second Circular Economy Demonstration Projects Calls was launched in 2012 and included improvements such as being more streamlined and greater flexibility in the timeline to submit proposals. However, it was limited by the lack of economic resources earmarked.

The third Call was launched in 2014 and will support seven projects aimed at generating new materials and to recover paper sludge (Prodigest), husks (Valcas), WEEE electric appliance plastics (Fénix), scrap vehicle waste (Recyglas), textiles (Hariberri) and steelworks slag (Ballaslag).


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4 Results obtained in 8 projects

The results summary presented here fully covers the eight projects driven in the first

Call for Circular Economy Demonstration Projects.

sector Company Circular economydemonstration project

environmental relevance

technicalknowledge Viability

Publicrolc inmarket

solutionavailable

Paper Cemosa Recovery technology “pulse combustion drying”(PCD) for the de-inking sludge

Alternative: prevention by fibre recirculation

Construction arnh DCW recovery in the manufacturing and use of soil-cement and gravel-cement

digitalingenieríay gestión

Producing bricks pozzolanic for enclosures interior using DCW

orobio-goicoechea y Cia

Recovery of aggregate iron and steel and ashes from incinerating wastewater purification sludge by means of using it to manufacture concrete blocks

Managers sogecar Setting up a washing closed circuit and reuse of cleaning rags and clothes impregnated with hazardoussubstances

Koopera Optimising the separation and recycling of textiles, toys, books and small electronic and electric appliances tobe incorporated of voice control automated equipment

ecofond Conditioning environmentally degraded areas by means of using the technofloors produced using wastewater treatment plant sludge, DCW and recycled bentonites

Plastic tamarix noa

Obtaining extrusion profiles for windows, urban furniture and nautical applicaiton using electrical cabling plastic waste

Keyl Positive: A relevant, verified and proven aspect.

l neutral: An aspect with potential to evolve and achieve a favourable outcome.

l negative: No current viability due to being technical impossible or due to conditioning factors such as non-competitive energy costs inherent to the process or excessively low dumping prices that threaten the operation being questioned.

table 3

Valuing the 8 demonstration projects (2011 call) with respect to the five stages to establish new viable solution on the waste recovery market.

4 – Results obtained in 8 projects

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The eight projects qualitatively and synthetically valued here facilitate new products or solutions for the construction sector, for the waste management sector, for the paper sector and for the plastic transformation sector. 50% of the projects have achieved solutions that are already on the market. In all cases, the public role is relevant and the economic viability is not

sufficient in just one of the projects, while there is still a need in another to consider the long-term environmental consequences. All the projects have started from a good technical knowledge baseline (or even excellent in 75%) and all the projects have a high or medium potential environmental relevance.

Company demonstration project technical económica environmental

Cemosa “Pulse combustion drying” (PCD) recovery technology for de-inking sludge

Alternative: prevention using fibre recirculation

arnh Recovery of DCW to manufacture and use soil-cement and gravel-cement

digital ingeniería y gestión

Obtaining puzzolanic bricks for enclosures interior using DCW

orobio-goicoechea y Cia

Recovery of steelworks aggregates and ashes from incinerating wastewater purification sludge incorporation to the manufacturing of concrete blocks

sogecar Setting up a washing closed circuit and reusing cleaning rags and clothes impregnated with hazardous substances

Koopera Optimising the separation and recycling of textiles, toys, books and small electronic and electrical appliances to be included in voice control automated equipment

ecofond Conditioning of environmentally degraded zones by means of using technofloors producing using wastewater treatment plant sludge, DCW and recycled bentonites

tamarix noa Obtaining profiles by extrusion for windows, urban furniture and nautical application using electric cable plastic waste

Keyl Positive: It implies a relevant, verified and proven aspect.

l neutro: An aspect with potential to evolve and achieve a favourable outcome.

l negativo: No current viability due to being technical impossible or due to conditioning factors such as non-competitive energy costs inherent to the process or excessively low dumping prices that threaten the operation being questioned.

table 4

Simplified summary of the environmental-economic-technical viability assessment of the 8 demonstration projects.


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Cemosa: “Pulse combustion drying” (PCD) recovery technology for de-inking sludge

The set of paper and pulp manufactuers in the sphere of the BAC generate over 220,000 tons/year of wastewater treatment and deinking sludge, with a landfill elimination ratio for that waste of 41%.

Celulosas Moldeadas S.A. (CEMOSA) generates a de-inking sludge stream as a reject of its production process of 4,000 tons/year that go to landfill.

The project sought to check between November 2011 and June 2012 the environmental-economic-technical viability of the new Pulse Combustion

Drying (PCD) technology to dry the sludge of 65% of humidity and 46% of organic

matter. Even though the environmental and technical viability of the technology has been proven,the investment required means at least 6 years of depreciation in the best of the cases. Due to those results, CEMOSA decided to meanwhile undertake another work dynamic by reincorporating the fibre fraction in the production process. The estimated benefits, after modifying the processes and investing in an innovative separation technology, will consist in being more effective in the use of the raw material, recovering 150 ton/year of quality fibre, reducing waste generation by 550 ton/year and obtaining a savings of 26,000 €/year.

Companies belonging to the project consortium: CIMAS, Ekonek and Aztelan.


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ARNH: Recovery of DCW to manufacture and use of soil cement and gravel cement

In the construction sector, 1,240,000 ton/year of Demolition and Construction Waste are generated in the sphere of the BAC with a recovery percentage of 52% in 2010.

The aim of the project was to confirm the replacement of 100% of the natural aggregate when manufacuting soil cement by different DCW.

Three types of formulas were produced with the support of Tecnalia after carrying out the relevant analysis. The compacting, resistance, humidity, durability, workability and characteristics testing of the standard mix has led to the conclusion that the use of recycled aggregate in the manufacturing of soil cement is technically viable according to the required standards (PG3,..) with the

most interesting being those obtained using recycled concrete aggregate Environmentally, the carbon footprint of the soil cement has been reduced by 5% and it is economically profitable, but the importance has to be stressed of the DCW to be recovered coming from a separation at source on site of the different streams in order to prevent impurities, along with stone crushing and optimum sieving to ensure the quality of the product.

Ihobe has managed to integrate this new use in the groundbreaking “Technical Order for the user of recycled aggregates from DCW” of the Basque Government and is finalising the developing of new Green Public Procurement criteria for soil cements in outdoor paving and indoor coatings.

Companies belonging to the project consortium: Tecnalia (Construction Division).


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Digital Ingeniería y Gestión: Obtaining puzzolanic bricks for interior enclosures using DCW

In the construction, sector, 1,240,000 ton/year of Demolition and Construction Waste are generated in the sphere of the BAC with a recovery percentage of 50% (in 2010). The project consisted of checking the economic-technical and environmentalviability of pozzolanic bricks, i.e. produced using additives instead of a thermal process, which incorporate demolition and construction waste. After Digital Ingeniería y Gestión (DYG) had selected the materials, adjusted grain size and additives, manufactured the products and conducted the relevant quality tests in two successive stages, the technical viability of the three products was shown. On the one thand, bricks for interior enclosures with 50% of concrete from DCW and 8% slag, bricks with 30% ceramic material from DCW and sustainable boundary stones for outdoor

use with 70% of DCW and 12% ash and residual slag.

The costs of 0.22 €/brick are competitive on the market and the carbon footprint shrank between 56% and 74% according to the use and the specific formulation. This new recovery alternative is already available on the market with the problem of low demand due to the current situation of the building sector.

However, thanks to the project, Ihobe has been able to integrate this new use in the draft of the “Technical Order for the user of recycled aggregates from DCW” of the Basque Government and is developing new Green Public Procurement criteria for soil cements in outdoor paving and indoor coatings, including in other questions, the use of those materials.

Companies belonging to the project consortium: Navarra University, Glamorgan University (UK) and Laboratorio de Ensayos Navarra, S.A.


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Orobio-Goicoechea y Cia: Recovery of steelworks aggregate and ashes from incinerating wastewater treatment plant sludge by means of incorporating them in the manufacture of concrete blocks

Over 900,000 ton/year of slag is generated by the iron and steel industry in the Basque Country, along with 9,000 ton/year of ash for wastewater treatment plant sludge at the Galindo Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) (Bizkaia).

The purpose of the project was to produce alternative concrete blocks to the current ones, by adding WWTP ashes and iron and steel slag. Different formulas were tried that determined the final manufacturing of two types of blocks:

• Fine lime aggregate, coarse lime aggregate and type I cement partially substituted (10%) by WWTP ash.

• Steelworks fine aggregate (80%) and WWTP ash aggregate (20%), steelworks coarse aggregate and type II cement.

After the relevant analysis, manufacturing and testing had been carried out, the technical assessment was positive for uses without contact with water, the environmental assessment confirmed a 40% drop in consumption of lime aggregate and the carbon footprint shrunk

up to 5%. Even though the molybdenum and chrome values that are incorporated to the product from the ashes meant that further leaching analyses were necessary of the new materials regarding their end-of-life or a new recovery cycle. The suitability for the use phase is garanteed as the metals are immobilised in linked applications. The economic valuation meant cost savings of up to 46% in terms of materials consumed, which would reach up to 3,800 ton/year in this company.

The lack of market demand is another barrier to those new products and therefore the introduction of related green procurement criteria is being considered.

Companies belonging to the project consortium: Tecnalia (Construction Division).


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Sogecar: Setting up a closed circuit for washing and reusing cleaning rags and clothes impregnated with hazardous substances

The Project has enabled the possibility of defining a close circuit between SOGECAR and potential customer for the cleaning and reusing rags, in applications where that is possible. The economic viability of this line of aciton is closely linked to a change in the dumping tax scenario.

Ecofond: Conditioning of environmentally degraded zones by means of using technofloors produced using WWTP sludge, DCW and recycled bentonites

The Project has first enabled the economic, environmental and technical viability of the use of techno-floors for the conditioning of degraded zones to

be established and, more specifically, it has confirmed the usefulness of recycled bentonites in its formula. This application would mean in the case of the conditioned

landfill, a recovery potential of 6,000 t/year of pressed refined solids, previously activated to obtain the recycled bentonite, which leads to savings of 210,000 €/year and ensures the future of the ECOFOND business.

The availability of the solution now depends on an environmental protocol being agreed that allows this scheme to be transferred to other degraded areas and on obtaining the relevant environmental administrative authorisations.

Companies belonging to the project consortium: CIMAS.

Companies belonging to the project consortium: Echasa, Neiker-Tecnalia.


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Koopera: Optimising the separation and recycling of textiles, toys and books and small electronic and electric appliances to be used in voice controlled automated equipment

Just in terms of textiles alone, over 2,252 ton/year of waste is generated in the BAC, without counting the amount of toys, books and small electric appliances, that can be recovered in greater value added processes.

The project sought to optimise the sorting stage of the materials collected in new containers (already at the sorting plant) by means of implementing Sailkatu technology, consisting of a voice-controlled automated equipment that streamlines and facilitates the work of the operators when sorting the items.

The project, carried out between December 2011 and July 2012 and

which had the additional support of Bizkaia Provincial Council, confirmed the technical viability of the technology and which made it an essential tool for the selective sorting at the Koopera centre and which radically improved the monitoring of results indicators.

The voice recognition technology increases the recovery potential by 77% and has been very positively assessed by the Basque Waste Coordination Entity and is being embraced by other provinces of the Basque Country. In fact, it is one of the few dynamics capable of bringing to fruition and showing the progress in municipal waste reuse indicators.

Companies belonging to the project consortium: Ekiber, S. Coop., Ekorrepara and Berohi, S. Coop.


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Tamarix Noa: Obtaining profiles by extrusion for windows, urban furniture and nautical application using electric cable plastic waste

In the Basque Country, obsolete electrical cables are managed and which generate, after recovering the copper, over 4,700 tons of waste plastic (PVC and PE) per year and most of which still ends up in landfill.

The aim of the project has been to produce highest value products by using plastic extrusion equipment.

After conducting preliminary tests, two pilot test stages were conducted between October 2011 and October 2013 to produce PVC window profiles in an initial phase and, in a second phase, profiles for urban furniture (benches, railings, bins, etc.) and profiles for nautical applications (fender and protection profiles for vessels), along with material for vibration shock absorbers.

The technical assessment confirmed that the extrusion process is technically possible for PVC window profiles after reducing the humidity and eliminating most of the metallic traces to be found The high resistance of the extruded material makes it ideal for products in complex weather conditions, such as urban furniture and nautical applications.

Economically, the balance is positive, but it will require a boost to be given to Green Public Procurement that, in the BAC along, could consumer 4,700 tons/year of extruded plastics from cable waste.

In addition, the project has developed disseminable technical procedures that can help a plastic extrusion company to incorporate waste plastic in its process and meet the required technical quality standards.

Companies belonging to the project consortium: Zicla, Extrusistem, S.A. and Polinter, S.A.


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In addition, the Basque Government’s Environment Office through Ihobe has implemented other initiatives, whose results will be showcased in other documents, and including:

l The recovery of casting chemical moulding fines and sands in cement production,

under the aegis of Cementos Lemona and the Basque-Navarra Smelters Association.

l Two partially executed projects, of the Second Call and 2012 Demonstration Projects, specifically, the “Reusing Vegetable Frying Oil to generate thermal energy in the food processing industry”, led by Amicyf and the MCC Telecom WEEE integral management Weenet RFID System.


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5 demonstration projects and the perception of the participating companies

The participating companies in this first Call for Circular Economy Demonstration Projects have welcomed the work and the private-public partnership reached.

All the companies consider that a type of call such as the one carried out is pertinent, and this fact is reinforced with our not being aware of any other initiative of similar characteristics that could help to bridge the “Valley of Death”.

As regards the key value that this Call contributes to the company, apart from the importance of cofunding the projects, working with the Environmental Authorities in the integral approach of the solution (75%), followed by the favourable administrative framework (62%) due to the Ministry being involved and being able to fast-track permits,

along with developing environmental-technical standards that drive the market and, finally, the public promotion of the solution, with 35%.

Despite the difficulty of succeeding in the current economic climate, 25% of companies believe that during the current year they may embark on a new business line of activity arising from the projects and 63% believe that it is possible to develop it in three years. Furthermore, 62% of the companies believe that the project will help to enhance their competitiveness.

Finally, the high global satisfaction of the companies (9/10 on average) and the adequate meeting of expectations in 87% leads to participants willing to repeat.

area Rating by thecompanies

Need for a “Demonstration Projects” Call 100%

Outstanding key contribution by the Environmental Authorities

• Approach/criterion

• Favourable Administrative Framework

• Promoting the solution

75%62%37%

Posible nueva línea empresarial

• By 2014

• By 2016

• Not envisaged

25%63%12%

Adequate support by Ihobe 100%

Increased competitiveness (% > 7; 0-10) 62%/6

Expectations met (% > 7; 0-10) 87%/7.4

Global satisfaction (% > 7; 0-10) 100%/9

table 5

Rating of the Demonstration Projects by the participating companies based on 8 answers.

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6 Conclusions and final rating

The main conclusions arising from the first Calls for Circular Economy Demonstration Projects are:

l the appropriateness and need to maintain and consolidate the Call for Circular economy demonstration Projects. The appropriate and streamlined funding scheme, with a broad timeline for the call, the dual emphasis on prioritising solutions for the challenges on the Basque Waste Plans, on the one hand, and on possible new lines of business emerging in the circular economy, on the other hand, are factors for success. An integral monitoring team that anticipates possible environmental or regulatory-legislative risks and puts forward public market activation strategies is another of the values acknowledge by all the parties involved.

l the scope of the projects is focused on demonstrating in-factory solutions that are already sufficiently researched and developed. It is therefore important to ensure an optimum preliminary state-of-the-art, that guarantees that the proposed solution is the best recovery channel and that there are no similar initiatives underway or being launched. They must also avoid R&D activities in the framework of the project, insuring at the same time that the already developed available R&D flows to the project. The demonstration projects are likewise going to be aimed at generating a groundbreaking private initiative that needs public collaboration to successfully be established on the market.

l Private-public planning of the whole environmental-economic-technical viability analysis. Defining the critical aspects of environmental-economic-technical viability and market critical aspects right from the start of the public-private partnership on and agreeing the hypothesis and possible public roles and functions, apart from cofunding, streamline the future availability of the solution on the market.

l the public activation of the market for the circular economy solutions is carried out above all by transferring the results to official green public procurement criteria, by developing new proposals for waste end-of-life criteria, assessing the preparation of orders banning the dumping of certain waste streams, by facilitating the Environmental-Administrative Permits for the new solutions and transferring/fostering public endorsement the successful experiences in the BAC and outside it.

l The relevance of involving the whole value chain for projects that tackle an integral circular economy solution. They are networking and knowledge based solutions that nearly do not imply investments in new immovables, but rather develop new strategies to recover what already exists.

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Documents

Circular economy in Basque Country