- Context and Motivation
The construction and manufacturing sectors are among Europe’s most resource-intensive industries. Construction and demolition activities generate approximately one third of total EU waste, while simultaneously consuming vast quantities of virgin raw materials. Despite existing recycling practices, large fractions of mineral construction waste and timber residues are still downcycled into low-value applications or disposed of in landfills, leading to resource inefficiencies and avoidable greenhouse gas emissions. In the context of the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Renovation Wave strategy, the EU has set ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions, improve resource efficiency and decrease dependency on imported raw materials. Achieving these objectives requires systemic transformation: moving from linear “take-make-dispose” models to circular systems where materials retain value over multiple life cycles.
However, significant barriers remain. These include insufficient selective demolition practices, limited market confidence in secondary raw materials, fragmented value chains, lack of digital traceability, and regulatory uncertainty. CIRCULess addresses these systemic challenges through an integrated technological, digital and socio-economic approach.
CIRCULess aims to enable near-zero waste construction and manufacturing by upcycling mineral-based construction waste (e.g. concrete and aggregates) and timber streams into high-quality, market-ready secondary raw materials. Industrial partners in the project such as Holcim, Volbas and Forestia, validate the solutions, ensuring technical feasibility and market relevance.
By integrating material innovation, digitalisation and socio-economic analysis, CIRCULess reduces key adoption barriers and accelerates market uptake. By combining technological innovation with socio-economic insight, CIRCULess ensures that circular solutions are not only technically feasible, but also economically viable, socially accepted and aligned with European policy priorities.
