Sector
Waste management and recycling
Investment date
2023
Status
Current
Contact
Founded in 2010, Adec Global is a regional leader in the management and recovery of construction and demolition waste (CDW) and steel slag. Its plant near Barcelona has 50 employees and a capacity to treat 780kT of waste per year.
Increasing government requirements to use recycled materials in construction and stricter landfill and recycling targets in general represent tailwinds for Adec, which is a pioneer in the treatment of steel slag and has long-term contracts.
There is an important recovery route for CDW and steel slag waste. In recent years, the use of CDW has experienced greater growth. The CDW generated in Spain has grown at a CAGR of 3.3% during the period 2015 while the volume of recycled CDW has grown by 29%.
Public administrations are moving in this direction. Examples are the increasingly stringent limitations of waste to landfill, the increasing recycling targets set by the EU Waste Framework Directive, the increasing requirements of administrations to use recycled materials on construction sites, and taxes on landfilling.
Adec Global manages construction and demolition waste and steel mill sludge from steel mills, driving the transition to a circular economy by transforming non-hazardous waste into secondary raw materials suitable for the replacement of virgin materials in various production processes.
A number of industrial activities benefit from the process, with part of their waste streams being used to produce valuable resources that can be used for other industries. In addition, the project benefits the environment and society, with effects that include reducing air pollution and avoiding the adverse effects of climate change. Reducing dependence on fossil fuels also translates into additional social benefits.
The company currently manages some 600,000 tn/year of waste that generates recycled aggregates that are reused in construction activities and 20,000 tn/year of iron ore that is reintroduced into the steel production process. The impacts on primary energy savings and CO2 emissions avoided will form part of the annual impact assessment of the activity.
The risks that could affect the achievement of the results are external and are mainly related to a decrease in production in industrial activities that generate demolition waste and steel slag to be processed.
