LafargeHolcim subsidiary, Corps circle back to C&D debris recycling

Sources: LafargeHolcim, Chicago; CP staff

LafargeHolcim and Geocycle, a subsidiary offering industrial, agricultural and municipal waste management services worldwide, are teaming with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to pinpoint recovery and recycling prospects for military installation construction and demolition materials. The ERDC will provide technical assistance and $3.4 million to develop a basic research program. The project will leverage resources from Geocycle’s Holly Hill, S.C. research center and the Holcim Ltd. Global Innovation Center in Lyon, France. 

“In 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that approximately 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris was generated in the United States, which is more than twice the amount of generated municipal solid waste,” says Geocycle Director, North America Sophie Wu. “The partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will help us better understand this material and see how we can create a circular economy program leading to a zero-waste future.”

The research team will conduct a waste-characterization study at Army installations facing significant construction and demolition debris. Materials will then be evaluated for possible coprocessing opportunities, including energy or mineral recovery. Information gleaned from the research will help the Corps identify ways to reduce waste, increase its circular economy efforts, and avoid landfill costs plus associated emissions.The LafargeHolcim, Geocycle and ERDC cooperative agreement is supported by funds appropriated to the Department of Defense and Corps. Based in Vicksburg, Miss., the ERDC conducts R&D in support of the soldier, military installations, and civil works projects as well as for other federal agencies, state and municipal authorities, and with U.S. industry through innovative work agreements. 

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