Scandi Byg recycles 87.3 percent of production waste

Scandi Byg has implemented a comprehensive waste sorting system in module production, which, in combination with data and a strong joint effort from the employees, has led to the company now achieving a recycling rate of 87.3 percent and reducing landfill from just over 27 percent to 2.7 percent since 2018. According to an environmental consultant at Marius Pedersen A/S, this is a remarkable effort.

“It’s useful when we all sort“. That message is written on posters that hang in production at the module manufacturer Scandi Byg in Løgstør. The posters are accompanied by no less than 34 different buckets and containers, all of which are ready to receive sorted construction waste.

Waste sorting in production is one of the areas where Scandi Byg has worked intensively in recent years to reduce resource waste. That effort has meant that in 2023 Scandi Byg recycled no less than 87.3 percent of the company’s production waste – and according to environmental consultant at Marius Pedersen A/S, Frank Mortensen, this is a very high recycling percentage:

“In recent years, there has been a steadily increasing interest in waste sorting and recycling, among other things as a result of legal requirements, and that more companies want a greener profile. But we also know that it can be challenging to get people to sort waste correctly when everyday life begins – it can also be difficult for the construction industry to get a handle on waste sorting, as there are typically a lot of people involved in construction. But here companies like Scandi Byg are leading the way and showing that it can be done in practice,” says Frank Mortensen and continues:

“Scandi Byg has divided waste sorting into a total of 34 fractions, and it is a pleasure to see that every removed screw or broken plasterboard has a fixed place and that all employees do their part to sort waste correctly. It is an impressive effort, and it contributes to the fact that Scandi Byg has managed to get the recycling percentage up so high.“

Sets the bar high

At Scandi Byg, attention to waste sorting started when the company received a basic license for Nordic Ecolabel construction in 2017. As part of the point requirements, Ecolabel requires that the recycling rate be at least 70 percent, in order to obtain three out of a total of 16 points. But according to sustainability manager at Scandi Byg, Joan Bruun Thiesen, the module manufacturer has higher ambitions and has therefore since set an internal goal that the company must recycle at least 85 percent in production – and that goal has now been reached.

“We started with 20 fractions for sorting, but now we have almost doubled that number. Our landfill was 27.3 percent in 2018, but with the help of a systematic and joint effort, we have reduced it to just 2.7 percent in 2023. This means that we are saving the planet’s precious resources and can also see an economic gain by sorting waste even better. It simply does not make sense for us to throw away good materials,” says Joan Bruun Thiesen.

According to Joan Bruun Thiesen, a high recycling rate requires everyone in the company to do their part to help with waste sorting:

“We work a lot with data and calculate, among other things, waste volume and waste costs per built square meter. Data provides transparency and measurable results. In this way, we can continuously make summaries and show the employees what they contribute. It provides an enormous focus on everything from our logistics department to the employees in production,” she concludes.

Scandi Byg continuously works to develop processes and collaborates with local companies that can recycle the construction waste for new purposes. In addition, various measures have been initiated to further reduce the amount of waste.