A key challenge discussed was the significant effort required to remove metals and properly clean materials for recycling. “From a producer’s perspective, the cleaning process is too time- and labour-intensive, making it an unviable business case,” Achton-Boel explained. She emphasized the crucial role of the Woodcircles urban sawmill in overcoming these challenges and enabling recycled timber to be effectively reintegrated into new construction projects.
About the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative
Woodcircles is an active member of the EU’s Circular Cities and Regions Initiative, which supports Europe’s transition to a circular economy at the local and regional levels. The CCRI contributes to key EU policy objectives, including the European Green Deal’s 2050 climate neutrality target and the EU Bioeconomy Strategy. The initiative is funded by Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation framework programmes.
By combining knowledge sharing, technical expertise, and financial support, the CCRI helps stakeholders across European cities and regions, including local and regional authorities, industry representatives, research organizations, and civil society, to develop and implement circular economy solutions.
As part of the CCRI’s Technical Working Group on Circular Construction and Buildings, Woodcircles focuses on key challenges such as managing construction and demolition waste, creating markets for secondary materials, and upgrading existing buildings and spaces. Through its involvement, Woodcircles is helping to shape sustainable urban development and promote circularity in the construction sector.
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