Reuse of materials to reduce climate impact
Stockholm Royal Seaport is one of Europe's largest urban development areas. In partnership with multiple stakeholders and developers the City of Stockholm plans to build at least 12,000 new homes and 35,000 workplaces. Former port and industrial brownfield areas are being transformed into a green and mixed-use part of Stockholm.
As we develop Stockholm Royal Seaport, we conserve resources, reduce the number of transports, and thereby also minimise the environmental impact by employing innovative methods, solutions, and logistics chains. A crucial part of the climate transition is moving from linear resource consumption to a circular approach.
The conventional linear approach to handling excavated materials, such as rock and soil, involves transporting such material to landfill, and often considerable distances. However, in recent years, the Stockholm Royal Seaport development project has transitioned from linear to circular resource usage, recycling rock, gravel, and soil locally within the area. Central to this effort is the Mass Consolidation Centre, which is capable of recycling virtually all excavated materials, including rock and soft contaminated materials. The centre is permitted to process up to 400,000 tonnes of contaminated material a year, with contamination levels reaching hazardous waste.
By recycling locally, materials are transported a short distance before being circulated back to the construction site:
- Materials processed at the Mass Consolidation Centre are transported 80% shorter distances, resulting in approximately 80% reduced climate emissions compared to transporting materials to nearby reception facilities.
- The recycling rate for excavated materials is around 37%, and for rock and stone, it is nearly 100%.
- When the new sorting facility introduces wet screening in the autumn of 2023, the recycling rate for excavation materials at the centre is expected to increase to between 70 and 80%.
In addition to materials from Stockholm Royal Seaport, materials from the Slakthusområdet and Slussen urban development projects are also recycled. From 2024 onwards, more projects will use the Mass Consolidation Centre.
In 2022, a collaboration began between the City of Stockholm and the Stockholm Region's administration for the extended metro (FUT). Materials from the metro expansion are transported by barge from Blasieholmen to the Mass Consolidation Centre, saving more than 50,000 heavy truck transports through central Stockholm, equivalent to 750,000 tonnes. Additionally, the same number of heavy truck transports are saved by not needing to purchase crushed materials. In total, this collaboration is estimated to save up to 100,000 transports within the city in the coming years.
"Large quantities of fill and road materials are required for the development of a district the size of Stockholm Royal Seaport. Local, electrified crushing and recycling of excavated materials reduces the number of transports and climate emissions while halving material costs. At the same time, we improve and guarantee the quality of the processing of materials that cannot be reused and are instead sent to landfill," explains Fredrik Bergman.
"As circular strategies are implemented, conditions for fossil-free workplaces are established. Construction machines already use biofuels, and the first electric truck is in operation with the project. The future is moving towards electrification with local charging infrastructure. And we are continuously developing our processes to increase reuse and reduce emissions," concludes Fredrik Bergman.
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Article Published: 11/04/2023 Updated: 27/06/2024