Ukraine must approve standards for recycling construction waste generated because of hostilities and formulate recipes for processing various materials, says Kostiantyn Saliy, president of the Ukrainian Union of Construction Materials Manufacturers.

“What hinders development most of all is the lack of state standards for recycling and processing of construction materials - destruction waste. According to EU standards, this construction waste should not create landfills on the outskirts of our cities, they need to be recycled. But the problem is that in two years the state has not raised this question is publicly. We, unions and associations, raise it and hope that there will be a donor structure that will help Ukraine with a grant, and we will be able to conduct scientific research on the formation of recipes for processing various types of waste,” Saliy said at the round table “Construction Materials. Readiness for Market Needs for Recovery” at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Tuesday.

He recalled that according to preliminary estimates, Ukraine has 100 million cubic meters of waste due to war destruction, but this number does not include waste in temporarily occupied territories affected by the Russian invasion.

According to the expert, the cost of the initial study of formulations for processing construction waste is estimated at $200,000, and the construction of a laboratory is $3-5 million.

“The issue of recycling construction materials is very interesting, since Europe after 1945 did not have such destruction, and the materials were completely different. In addition, not all materials can be recycled - objects hit by some missiles become toxic. A lot of research needs to be done, and it is difficult to get by with just one laboratory. It is necessary to have a complete laboratory for toxicology, sanitary testing, and fire loads,” explained the union president.