On the reuse of construction waste at the LIFE IP RESTART project event
On Friday 10 May, the event entitled "Challenges in achieving a sustainable and circular economy in Slovenia:Sharing knowledge and best practices on the reuse of construction waste" took place at the emerging centre for the reuse of construction waste in Dogoše near Maribor.The event was organised by the public utility company JP Nigrad of the Public Service Holding Maribor (JHMB) group, which is a partner in the LIFE IP RESTART project coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy.
"The nine-year integrated project, which brings together the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy and 15 leading partners in business and science, focuses on overcoming obstacles to achieving the European Union's recycling targets and ensuring the full implementation of the Operational Waste Management and Waste Prevention Programme," said Project Manager Mateja Simčič, who presented the project on behalf of the Ministry.
At the meeting, experts from the construction industry, representatives of the City of Maribor, JP Nigrad, JHMB, the Ministry and other project partners shared their expertise, innovative ideas, best practices and experiences in steering the Slovenian construction sector towards a sustainable future and a circular economy.
In their opening speeches, Neva Pipan, representative of the City of Maribor, Tomaž Kavnik, Director of JP Nigrad, and Andrej Rihter, Director of JHMB, highlighted the importance of the circular economy and sustainable practices. They emphasised the strong commitment of both the City of Maribor and the JHMB Group companies to support and actively implement activities in this area.
The volume of construction waste in Slovenia has been steadily increasing. In 2020, 4.5 million tonnes were generated, rising to 6 million tonnes in 2021, and reaching a record 8.6 million tonnes in 2022. By then, construction waste accounted for almost three quarters of Slovenia's total waste.
Speakers at the event included Tadej Žurman and Mirko Šprinzer from Deltaplan, Senko Pličanič from SOL.LEX.SUS, Dr Alenka Mauko Pranjič from the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Sergej Gutsmandl, Development Manager at JP Nigrad (RESTART project partners) and Damir Omerović from VIA X architectural design. They discussed the potential and challenges of reusing construction waste, construction processes and material recycling in the construction sector, stressing the importance of sharing experiences and finding optimal common solutions across legislative, technical, and social domains. Despite the challenges facing the sector, practical solutions that are already changing construction practices were presented, with a specific example provided by JP Nigrad. In addition, civil engineering students Eva Gradišnik and Nejc Časar from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation and Architecture at the University of Maribor provided an insightful theoretical contribution on technological processes for the reuse of building materials.
The meeting fostered a robust exchange of views and provided valuable networking opportunities between participants from the construction industry and experts from the wider community.
Mateja Simčič
LIFE IP RESTART Project Manager
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