Research Advances PET and CO₂-Capturing Concrete
New research has advanced sustainable concrete alternatives, including mix designs that use aggregates from PET plastic waste and materials that capture CO₂. One study demonstrates that concrete with up to 50% PET aggregate can be used for structural applications. Separately, ETH Zurich is testing an experimental CO₂-mineralizing concrete, while other researchers are developing a self-strengthening version to reduce emissions.
- The Dutch government has set a goal for the Netherlands to have a fully circular economy by 2050, with an interim target of a 50% reduction in the use of primary raw materials like minerals, fossils, and metals by 2030. The construction sector is a primary focus of this initiative. - A key policy instrument is the "Circular Construction Economy Transition Agenda," which aims for all government and public tenders to be circular by 2023 and 2030, respectively. This strategy is part of a broader plan to cut the construction industry's CO₂ emissions in half by 2030. - To support these goals, the Netherlands utilizes tools like the National Environmental Database (NMD) and promotes material passports to improve the monitoring of raw materials in construction. Some municipalities already use circularity as a key criterion in competitive tendering for public projects. - At the EU level, the revised Construction Products Regulation (CPR), which took effect in January 2025, aligns the industry with the European Green Deal. It mandates the use of Digital Product Passports (DPPs) for materials like concrete and steel to provide detailed environmental data and enhance traceability. - In a practical application of CO₂-capturing concrete in the Netherlands, construction firm Heijmans and climate tech company Paebbl unveiled a 7-meter pedestrian bridge. The bridge's concrete mix replaces 30% of traditional cement with a carbon-storing material and permanently sequesters nearly 66 kg of CO₂ in its deck. - The Port of Rotterdam is home to the Porthos project, a large-scale Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) initiative aiming to store 2.5 million tons of CO₂ annually in depleted offshore natural gas fields. This project, a collaboration including the Port Authority, will create a CO₂ transport infrastructure for multiple industrial emitters like Air Liquide and Shell. - The Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) actively supports the transition to a circular economy by assisting municipalities in developing circular waste management models, promoting recycling, and reusing materials through various international and local programs.
