The construction sector in Europe is the largest user of material in the economy and the solid waste from the sector amounts to almost a third of all generated on the continent, not counting mining and quarrying. Much is landfilled, leading to unsustainable resource use. The OSIRYS project sets out to develop eco-innovative façade and inner partitioning products. They should improve indoor air quality, increase thermal and acoustic insulation and control breathability of the construction systems. Important constituents of the products are composites of natural fibres and bio-derived plastics, bio-composites. The objective of task 8.3 is to assess the reuse and recycling potential of OSIRYS products, both regarding design and necessary infrastructure. Recycling of bio-composites has been examined in lab studies and required reuse structures and recycling routes have been examined through literature studies and interviews. The conclusions in chapter 8 on how to enable reuse and recycling in a systems perspective are valid for many building products and should be considered in product development. Enabling reuse or recycling of building materials and products is a challenge. It put special requirements on product design as well as systems of services such as databases on product properties and quality assurance. There is a legal incentive to reuse and recycle through the European Construction Product Regulation and the Directive 2008/98/EC on Waste. Reuse of a product is usually preferable from an environmental point of view, but in some cases recycling may be more feasible from a practical and economical perspective.
This deliverable, D8.3, is a public document of the OSIRYS project, delivered in the context of WP8, Task T8.3. The OSIRYS project sets out to develop eco-innovative façade and inner partitioning products. They should improve indoor air quality, increase thermal and acoustic insulation and control breathability of the construction systems.