Berlin – When it comes to climate protection, one crucial area is all too likely to be pushed aside: the construction and building sector. This is where 40 percent of the CO2 emissions and more than half of the waste in Germany arise. Insane! The Federal Environment Agency has now determined that 2.6 million tons of plastics are used every year. And usually the plastics end up in the garbage when the building is demolished – with fatal consequences for the climate and the environment. Valuable materials such as plasterboard, precast concrete parts and glass also suffer the same fate.
The materials such as plastic could be recycled and reused, keyword: circular construction. This not only reduces waste and CO2 emissions, but also saves valuable resources such as sand, gravel and wood, which are becoming increasingly scarce due to the construction boom.
New buildings are tomorrow’s waste
After all: The new Berlin Senate promises in the coalition agreement to significantly increase the recycling of components and to design the construction sector for sustainability. In addition, there are already binding regulations in public building projects, such as recycling building materials when demolishing public buildings – a good first step.
However, the recycling of building materials must be taken into account when planning new buildings. Because today’s new buildings are tomorrow’s waste. The private construction sector also finally needs binding regulations. Berlin can only act as a role model if it understands that the building materials have long been available. The city is a huge store of raw materials – we have to use it.
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