Comments on Recovered Aggregates and REACH

The Austrian Construction Materials Recycling Association (Österreichischer Baustoff-Recycling Verband, BRV) acts nationwide and across industrial sectors. This is ensured by
an appropriately constituted Management Board. The Association was established in
1990 and represents the interests of the construction material recycling industry. The
number of its members has since increased to 90 and the number of plants for the
recycling of construction material throughout the territory is also growing fast.

The Association envisions itself as a contact for private and public customers/federal
authorities, provinces, municipalities, special associations and the relevant Ministry in the
matter of construction material recycling.

REACH: Recycled mineral construction materials must not be subject to REACH

Recycled mineral construction materials
Recycled construction materials are produced from mineral waste from building construction and civil
engineering - in particular concrete, bricks and asphalt. These construction materials are incorporated
into the building/construction and have to fulfil the necessary legal and technical requirements -
including those of the REACH Regulation.

Recycled construction materials (recovered aggregates) represent the greatest potential for circular
products in the EU. Depending on the member state and the statistics, mineral construction waste
accounts for 15-20% of all waste. This huge volume or extremely large mass of waste represents a
correspondingly large potential as a source material for products of the circular economy, namely as
recycled construction materials.

Treatment plants that process recycled construction materials are very often operated by or as SMEs.
Processing is carried out in particular by screening, crushing and classifying rock fractions. Processing
is therefore subject to waste legislation and the Construction Products Regulation (CPR), as products
for the construction industry are manufactured from waste.

In the production process, the key technical parameters are grain size, grain shape, crushability,
compressive strength and the geometric shape of the grains. The chemical properties are generally
not important for technical use in buildings. Chemical parameters are specified nationally by the
member states for reasons of environmental compatibility. In most cases, the technical construction
parameters are specified by harmonised European standards, e.g. EN 13242, which regulates
‘aggregates’ - both natural and recycled, as well as industrially produced ones.

Recycled mineral construction materials have been in use for over 30 years, have proven to be a good
alternative to primary raw materials and allow up to 10% of primary raw materials to be saved each
year. This saves landfill volumes and minimises the impact on natural rock deposits.

A good 20 years ago, it was recognised in detailed discussions that recycled construction materials are
articles within the meaning of the REACH Regulation. They are therefore not subject to REACH. Since
then, neither the manufacturing process nor the source materials nor other basic principles have
changed in such a way that it is expedient or necessary to subject recycled construction materials to
the REACH regime.

REACH registration not necessary for recycled construction materials
Recycled mineral construction materials are obtained from the dismantling of buildings and civil
engineering structures. The materials used there were subject to the REACH Regulation when they
were first used. This makes it clear that only substances authorised under REACH are degraded and,
after appropriate processing, fed into a cycle that does not require further registration under REACH.

In many EU-memberstates and especially in Austria recycling of construction materials is
subject to a Recycling Construction Materials Regulation. In these memberstates
specifies environmentally relevant chemical limit values of processed recycled
construction materials, and on the other hand, pre-demolition audits are required in
advance (acceptance), which must be carried out by specifically trained specialists
(accredited specialist organisations or persons with dismantling expertise). These pre-demolition audits are used to recognise pollutants (hazardous substances) and contaminants (non-hazardous substances that interfere with the recycling process) and sort them out before demolition
work is carried out. This also ensures that any substances that could have a harmful effect on the
recycled product are screened out in advance. Even harmful substances introduced during the
operation of a building are recognised and, as mentioned, removed before demolition work is carried
out. This means that no harmful substances are introduced into the recycling process.

The EU-Waste Framework Directive also stipulates an (early) end-of-waste date for recycled
construction material products: after comprehensive testing, the environmental compatibility of these
recycled construction materials is certified – f.e. more than 90 per cent by mass of the recycled
construction materials produced in Austria reach the end-of-waste date when they are sold/passed on
and not only when they are installed/used. According to the Waste Framework Directive, waste can
only reach end-of-waste status if no negative effects on the environment or human health can occur.

Recycled construction materials are therefore harmless and have no negative impact on the
environment or human health.

Effects if recycled construction materials are subject to REACH
Recycled construction materials have so far NOT been subject to the REACH regime as an article, and
this is deliberate, as (see above) these articles do not have any harmful effects on the environment or
human health.

Recycled construction materials are subject to competition with primary construction
materials. Due to the necessary logistics, processing technology, storage requirements and transport,
the processing costs of recycled construction materials are practically identical to those of primary
construction materials. This calculation must also take into account the chemical analyses that are
currently defined at national level, and which regularly certify environmental compatibility at close
intervals.

Additional analyses, as could be required by REACH, mean that the EU target of increasing the
recycling rates of mineral construction waste to well over 70% (note: the EU Taxonomy Regulation
requires recycling rates of up to 100%) is unlikely to be achieved: On the one hand, because many
processing companies will avoid the additional expense and turn to other economic agendas; on the
other hand, because the prices of recycled construction materials will exceed those of primary
construction materials, as the production costs will be too high.

The economic competitiveness of recycled construction materials will no longer exist. The
market that has been built up over the last few decades will collapse or at least shrink considerably,
which runs counter to the EU's intentions.

It is also pointed out that no European member states have problems that could be prevented by
REACH arisen in recent decades, nor has there been a need for an investigation under REACH. As
millions of tonnes of recycled mineral construction materials are produced and used in, there is a
sufficient wealth of experience.

Furthermore, it is pointed out that waste treatment plants/processing plants for mineral construction
materials are typically operated by SMEs. Such plants employ an average of 5-15 people. SMEs do not
have the option of utilising legal departments or other administrative units, i.e. any new requirements
under REACH will not be met by these SMEs - instead, they will cease operations and thus reduce the
recycling rate.

Summary
Recycled construction materials are obtained from non-hazardous, mineral building waste
that already met the REACH criteria when it was used as a construction material. Prior to
demolition, any harmful substances present are identified by specialists and removed from the
recycling process. The incoming inspection of processing plants ensures that only suitable, high-quality raw materials are used. If the current practice, which has not led to any problems since its
inception, of categorising recycled construction materials as products is deviated from and recycled
construction materials are subjected to REACH, the recycling rate will immediately be greatly reduced,
competitiveness will be diminished, and the number of processing plants will be drastically reduced.

The idea that recycled construction materials could not constitute a product within the meaning of the
REACH Regulation leads to a massive administrative burden but does not benefit human
health or the environment as a whole.

The Austrian Construction Material Recycling Association (BRV) with more than 30 years
experience is therefore vehemently in favour of recycled construction materials being
regarded - as before - as articles within the meaning of the REACH Regulation and rejects
classification as a substance or mixtures to the REACH system.