Holcim UAE, a partner for sustainable construction across the built environment, including infrastructure, industry, and buildings, has unveiled ECOCycle – its initiative for transforming discarded construction waste into quality building materials.
Launched at the Make It In The Emirates event held at ADNEC Centre in Abu Dhabi, Holcim said that ECOCycle is a “milestone’ that “signifies a pivotal moment in the nation’s pursuit of smarter and more sustainable construction practices”.
ECOCycle harnesses Holcim’s innovative circular technology to accelerate change and transform cities into thriving urban centers. By effectively closing the loop in the construction industry, ECOCycle aims to revolutionise the way cities are built and developed, said Holcim.
The UAE generates a massive amount of construction demolition materials annually, comprising 70% to 75% of the nation’s total solid waste. ECOCycle directly tackles this challenge by transforming these discarded resources into high-quality building materials, giving them a second life instead of sending them to landfills.
As Holcim’s circularity technology platform, ECOCycle ensures that every labeled product contains a minimum of 10% to 100% recycled construction demolition materials, without compromising on quality or performance.
Ali Said, CEO of Holcim UAE and Oman, said: “With ECOCycle, we’re building cities from cities, closing the loop in construction and helping our customers achieve their ambitious circularity goals – by providing building materials and solutions that carry this label, with no compromise on quality and performance. At the same time, we’re reducing the use of primary materials, conserving natural resources, and minimizing the volume of materials sent to landfill.”
Recovery and reprocessing
The concept is simple, instead of extracting new raw materials for every construction project, ECOCycle recovers and reprocesses materials from old structures, reintegrating them into the construction cycle. This results in a genuinely closed-loop system that minimises waste, conserves natural resources, and aligns with the UAE’s ambitious goal of diverting 75% of waste from landfills.
This isn’t an untested idea. Holcim has already implemented this technology in various markets worldwide, including France, where an unprecedented feat was achieved: an entire residential building was constructed entirely using 100% recycled concrete. The UAE launch brings this proven track record to this region for the first time.
ECOCycle products can contribute to recognised green building certifications, providing developers, architects, and contractors with confidence that their projects are built responsibly. From foundations to facades, ECOCycle represents Holcim’s commitment to transforming today’s cities into the building materials of tomorrow, effectively building cities from cities.
