CDE to supply largest waste-recycling plant in Austria
Rhomberg investment in wet-processing technology a boost for country’s circular economy
RHOMBERG Bau, the construction and resources division of Austrian firm Rhomberg Group, have announced a major investment in a new construction and demolition (C&D) waste-recycling plant from wet-processing specialists CDE.
The investment comes as Austria continues to make significant progress on adopting a sustainable approach to waste-management and producing and supplying aggregates in a more environmentally friend manner.
In 2021 BRV, the Austrian Building Material Recycling Association, reported new regulations coming into force banning the disposal in landfill of waste that is ‘suitable for recycling and other forms of recovery’, including material from road and concrete demolition works, railway ballast, and asphalt.
Responding to the emerging legislation and to demonstrate its commitment to the advancement of the circular economy, Rhomberg are partnering with CDE to engineer what will be the country’s largest C&D waste-recycling plant when it is commissioned this autumn.
With a processing capacity of up to 200 tonnes/h, the turnkey plant will equip Rhomberg with a robust and flexible solution designed to handle demanding and highly variable inert waste streams originating from the westernmost parts of Austria, where the availability of virgin resources is limited.
The new CDE solution will further strengthen the capabilities and capacity of Rhomberg’s recycling operation, which collects and processes non-hazardous waste, whilst recovering valuable resources that can be returned to the construction sector as high-quality building materials.
Mass flux will also be monitored by the bespoke wet-processing system, providing the recycled aggregate supplier with exact mass balance throughout the plant, including oversize and waste by-product (eg filter cake).
Christoph Baier, CDE regional manager for the DACH area, said the project marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Rhomberg.
‘When commissioned, the new plant will be the most advanced of its kind in the region made possible not only by our industry-leading process knowledge and proven technologies but by a partnership underscored by the shared desire to accelerate the pace of change in our sector and champion the use of recycled construction materials,’ he commented.
‘Construction of a standard single-family home requires around 440 tonnes of mineral raw material. To put that in context, with their new CDE solution, Rhomberg would be able to process this volume of material in under three hours.’
A recent report commissioned by the Vorarlberg state government found that the Dornbirn district, where Rhomberg Steinbruch are based, generated almost 400,000 tonnes of excavated material in 2019. ‘This single plant enables Rhomberg to screen, scrub, wash and classify that waste stream,’ said Mr Baier.
Rupert Grienberge, managing director and head of construction and resources at Rhomberg Bau, believes the new CDE waste-recycling plant demonstrates the company’s commitment to the Austrian region. ‘We are a leading force for change and a vocal advocate for the use of construction materials recovered from C&D waste,’ said Mr Grienberge.
‘We recognize the value in these inert waste streams but also their complexity and variability – characteristics which necessitate an equally advanced processing solution to be able to handle efficiently. Our direct relationship with CDE gives us great confidence in this partnership and the positive role the plant will play in the circular economy in western Austria.’
