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Sustainability
Interior design

Exploring the Potential of Upcycled Construction Materials

July 20, 2023

While all forms of recycling are certainly better than a fate at the landfill, upcycling has significantly more potential for positive impact than downcycling.

Upcycling vs. Downcycling Differences

To many, the concepts of upcycling and downcycling might sound vaguely similar. After all, they both involve recycling efforts.

But in the construction industry – which generates an estimated third of waste in the European Union[1]  – the difference between the two is monumental.

By understanding the key distinction between materials that can be upcycled and downcycled, builders can make more sustainable choices about the materials they opt for in new constructions and renovations alike.

And by planning for the future by designing for disassembly right from the start, they can take the appropriate measures to avoid contamination and consequently, increase the possibilities for reuse and recycling.

Continue reading to learn more about the difference between upcycling and downcycling, discover materials that can viably be recycled and upcycled, and explore examples of upcycling in the construction industry.

Upcycling vs. Downcycling  

Recycling is an umbrella term for various types of product and material waste conversion. But not all recycling forms and processes are equal.

Upcycling and downcycling have different end results:

Upcycling: A form of recycling that repurposes waste, product, or materials into a substance of higher value than the original. Upcycling does not typically require resource-intensive technologies for separating, crushing, and processing.[2]

Downcycling: A form of recycling that repurposes materials into a substance of lower value than the original. Downcycling often involves using energy, resources, and virgin materials to create new products.

Unfortunately, not all materials can be upcycled. Materials such as concrete and plastic often have limited recycling options and are difficult to truly upcycle because even when recycling options exist, the process tends to downgrade the material quality and functionality in some capacity.

Composite materials such as fibre-reinforced plastics are even more challenging to recycle, much less upcycle, because of their heterogeneity and components.[3]

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Recycling and Upcycling Construction Materials

Although there is a significant amount of waste generated in the construction industry, the good news is that many commonly-used raw materials can be recycled and upcycled indefinitely should stakeholders be ready to take on the initiative and partake in the circular economy through their construction waste management practices.

The following are examples of construction materials that can be recycled indefinitely. In most cases, they can also be upcycled as part of closed-loop processes with limited to no degradation in quality:

  • Steel: Although steel makes up only 2 percent of the total weight of materials used in buildings, due to the emissions associated with its extraction and final manufacturing, it accounts for 25 percent of their carbon footprint. In the United Kingdom, an estimated 87 percent of constructional steel is recycled, 10 percent is reused, and 3 percent goes to landfill.[4]
  • Aluminium: The recycling process for this metal requires only about 5 percent of the energy used to produce the primary form. According to European Aluminium, increasing the production of recycled aluminium instead of importing primary aluminium reduced CO₂ emissions between 2020 and 2050 by 880-1500 million tonnes.[5]
  • Glass: According to a Deloitte study, the correct recycling of all construction glass waste could help mitigate tonnes of landfilled waste per year and could save approximately 1.23 million tonnes of primary raw materials each year.[6]
  • Stone and stone wool: Stone is one of the planet’s most abundant raw materials. Basalt stone is a natural by-product of volcanic activity that is melted and then spun into stone wool fibres, which are closed-loop, fully recyclable materials when used to produce stone wool over and over again.
Landscape image with mountain/volcano, blue skies and a green valley
Recycling in Circular Construction

When raw materials remain in the economy as long as possible, they help to contribute to a sustainable and resource-efficient construction industry.

Recycling raw materials
Article

Design for Disassembly in Upcycling

The recycling of end-of-life materials is more feasible, environmentally friendly, and profitable when processing and manufacturing operations are located close to the collection points. But that’s not the only requirement.

Recycling efforts are hindered when end-of-life materials cannot easily be dismantled and recovered easily.

And when non-recyclable components cannot be salvaged from the material that is intended to be recycled, then they’re considered to be contaminated – which means that they were likely not designed for disassembly.

Successful design for disassembly might require measures such as:[7]

  • Standard size components
  • Materials with simpler compositions
  • Mechanical joint methods (instead of gluing or welding)

Additionally, product modularity is especially convenient for reuse and recycling when the time comes for renovation or demolition.

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Upcycling Stone Wool Waste

At Rockfon, we use stone wool as the primary material for our acoustic solutions. It’s an abundant, closed-loop material and can be recycled repeatedly without any loss in quality.

And in many markets, we offer customers the option of recycling stone wool end-of-life ceiling tiles or offcuts from construction, renovation, and demolition sites as part of our take-back service Rockcycle.  

We then upcycle these to create new, high-quality stone wool briquettes and acoustic solutions, reducing the amount of virgin stone needed. We do not send stone wool waste to landfills.

In 2022, ROCKWOOL recycled roughly 68 000 tonnes of stone wool waste. We also upcycle secondary materials from other industries so that new high-quality stone wool products are produced with a high percentage of recycled content.

The following are examples of stone wool products that were disassembled and upcycled into new acoustic solutions ready for new projects and constructions:

Now more than ever, it’s important that we choose materials that have the potential for circularity and multiple service lives instead of exhausting the resources available to us.

Recycling – or, even better, upcycling – is how we can achieve this. 

rock, stonewool, lava, volcano, stone, origin
Our Sustainability Report

ROCKWOOL has been upcycling end-of-life stone wool and off-cuts for years and new solutions for waste management continue to be a key focus. Download the 2022 edition of our Sustainability Report to learn more about our progress, achievements, and commitments.

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Sources:

  1. European Commission. n.d. “Construction and Demolition Waste.” ec.europa.eu. https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/waste-and-recycling/construction-and-demolition-waste_en.
  2. Gnatiuk, Liliia, Hanna Novik, and Maryna Melnyk. 2022. “Recycling and Upcycling in Construction.” Theory and Practice of Design, no. 25 (June): 130–39. https://doi.org/10.18372/2415-8151.25.16789.
  3. Yang, Yongxiang, Rob Boom, Brijan Irion, Derk-Jan van Heerden, Pieter Kuiper, and Hans de Wit. 2012. “Recycling of Composite Materials.” Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification 51 (January): 53–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2011.09.007.
  4. “Steel Recycling.” n.d. Galvanizers Association. https://www.galvanizing.org.uk/sustainable-construction/steel-is-sustainable/steel-recycling/.
  5. Review of Aluminium: A Unique Metal Driving the Green Transition. N.d. European Aluminium. Accessed May 25, 2023.
  6. Hestin, Mathieu, Sarah de Veron, and Stephanie Burgos. 2016. Review of Economic Study on Recycling of Building Glass in Europe. Deloitte Sustainability.
  7. Rios, Fernanda Cruz, Wai K. Chong, and David Grau. 2015. “Design for Disassembly and Deconstruction - Challenges and Opportunities.” Procedia Engineering 118: 1296–1304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2015.08.485.  

We provide customers with a complete acoustic ceiling system offering, combining sound absorbing ceiling tiles and wall panels with suspension grid systems and accessories.

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