RECOWERS · REusing COnstruction Wood through a common EuRopean Standard
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-01-01 → 2023-12-31
- EU contribution
- €160,932
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
REusing COnstruction Wood through a common EuRopean Standard
Due to sustainability concerns, it is essential to reduce and recycle waste in accordance with Circular Economy principles. The construction and demolition sector generates a significant amount of wood waste, including timber that could be reused or recycled for structural purposes. Timber intended for structural applications must undergo prior grading according to established standards. However, existing standards designed for new timber are unsuitable for recovered timber, hindering its reuse and subsequently contributing to increased timber waste. Therefore, to enhance the reuse of timber, a new standard should be developed specifically for recovered timber. This standardization will also boost the market for recovered timber contributing to a more sustainable planet. The primary objectives of the RECOWERS project are to develop a grading system for recovered timber integrated into Circular Economy policies, incorporating new technologies. The project aims to validate the grading system with various wood species and across different European countries. Ultimately, the goal is to establish a European standard for grading recovered timber.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Timber construction following circular economy principles and reuse of building waste materials are important for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. The demolition sector generates a large amount of timber products that could be reused directly or recycled for structural purposes. However, nowadays there is no established recovered timber market due to the lack of a standardized classification system for this product. The overall objective of this project aims to develop a grading system for recovered timber and create a European standardized framework. A first step of analyzing available data is following by a secondment at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) with an internationally recognized expert in European standardization. After that, innovative solutions using non-destructive grading procedures and testing techniques like infrared thermography will be developed and the grading procedure will be validated in companies. Finally, the grading system will be presented in the European committees of standardization of timber construction and circular economy to publish a standard. The project will involve national and international standardization committees of timber construction and circular economy, stakeholders and companies apart from exploring the potential market and structural uses of recovered timber.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSIDAD POLITECNICA DE MADRID · MadridCoordinatorSpain
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union