Mr. P.J. Ryan:

The waste statistics are probably exaggerated. For example, the EPA has rolled out two national decisions over the past few years. One was on recycled aggregates, so that is an end-of-waste decision. It is probably not seen as much use because the limits that have been set are very stringent compared with those in other countries. Sometimes people do the testing and pay for it and do not achieve the leachate limits they need to achieve. That is one problem.

On a broader level, the EU is looking at harmonising all the standards in that regard across member states. That would possibly help with recycled concrete. Out of the 9 million tonnes of construction and development waste, most of it, a huge chunk, if not 5 million tonnes, is greenfield soil and stone. That was deemed waste until last year. The new national decision for greenfield soil and stone came in at the end of August 2024. Already this year, we have seen 4.4 million cu. m of greenfield soil and stone being treated as Article 27 byproduct, that is, not waste.