Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has opened its own concrete recycling facility where concrete from renovation and maintenance projects is crushed to make new concrete or foundation material for construction projects at the airport.
The facility, opened in collaboration with Heijmans and VolkerWessels Infra Schiphol, contributes to the airport’s goal of becoming waste-free by 2030. Every year, 60,000 metric tons of concrete rubble is left over after renovations and maintenance works at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The new facility stores, sorts and breaks down concrete rubble into small chunks using large crushing units before turning it into recycled concrete products. All major construction partners at the airport can use the installations on the site, located on Zonnekruidweg at Schiphol Northwest, towards Badhoevedorp.
Schiphol has been using recycled concrete for some time. For example, several offices and warehouses were demolished to make room for a dual taxiway. Almost 70% of the material left over from the demolitions was reused at Schiphol. Until the new site opened, most concrete rubble was transported to a nearby crushing machine, or a machine was rented. The airport saves approximately 48,000 transportation miles and the associated CO2 emissions annually by processing and recycling concrete on its own site. In addition, the company’s own equipment will soon run on electricity, while the machinery outside Schiphol ran on diesel.
For more key construction and architecture updates from the passenger terminal industry, click here.