Getting creative with demolition debris

Demolishing a building and then getting rid of the remains? So old-fashioned! Buildings are no longer being demolished, but taken apart piece-by-piece so that a lot can be reused. We call this circular demolition. And Schiphol does it as much as possible. That's how we will reach our goal of zero waste in 2030. 

Same building, different location 
A good example is Cargo Building 18, which had to make way for the construction of a new taxiway. Martijn Horsman, sustainability advisor at the department assetmanagement, says: 'The whole thing was sold to one buyer. It was taken apart and will be put back together down the road. Soon, the same building will be standing at a different location. Every single nut, bolt and little piece will be reused. Fantastic, isn't it?' 

Unfortunately, not all buildings are as suitable for circular demolition. Old buildings are often concrete giants and cannot be taken apart so easily. Often, only the concrete itself can be reused. It gets broken up and the granules can, for example, be used in the foundations of a platform or runway. 

Reap what you wreck 
In the construction of a dual taxiway system, several office buildings and storage units had to be torn down. Instead of getting rid of the demolition waste, a list was made of the location and condition of the various materials. An architect then looked at which were suitable for reuse. Almost 70% of all the material will be reused at Schiphol. For example, no less than 220,000 kilos of roofing has been turned into 44,000 m2 of 8 cm thick asphalt. 

This will go to Rotterdam The Hague Airport, which is part of Royal Schiphol Group, and will last for at least 25 years. It will be used, among other things, for a new road for crash tenders and fire engines. 

A win-win situation 
The material that couldn't be reused at Schiphol has been given another home. Businesses were given a special opportunity to indicate what they could use. And so, a great many steel doors, wooden doors, plastic window frames and glass partition walls found new owners. Not only sustainable, but also good value for the businesses. After all, buying everything new can cost a fortune. A win-win situation! 

Of course, we cannot do this alone. That’s why we work together with all our partners to get the job done.