In 2012, total amount of the EU construction waste in EU reached 821 160 000 tones and, as a result, construction and demolition sector in EU produced 32% of EU waste. It should be also noted that the number of C&D wastes increases in the EU member states and it is expected that in 2020 the amount of waste generated by the construction sector will reach more than 500 million tonnes1. Therefore, the market related to the construction and demolition waste is seen as the most attractive in comparison with markets aimed at collection or recovery of other types of waste2.
The majority of C&D waste is produced in France, Germany, Netherland and United Kingdom however the group of important producers represent also Italy, Spain and Belgium. In 2011, revenues of recycling of construction and demolition waste in Europe reached $61 billion3.
95% of the EU construction waste consists of mineral and solidified materials (excluding combustion wastes, contaminated soils and polluted dredging spoils). This waste stream includes mainly concrete and masonry which represented above 60% of construction and demolition waste (2011). Another big proportion is composed of asphalt (up to 26%). Other materials (e.g. gypsum) comprise only a small part of the C&DW total weight4.

Future trends and innovative sorting and recycling technologies
European market of C&D waste is characterized by three important trends which can lead to rapid development of new solutions for C&D waste management. First of all, increase of prices for waste disposal is observed and this process may stimulate development of companies interested in C&DW management. Moreover, it is predicted that EU countries will move towards unification of regulations aimed at C&D management. Finally, the unification process will also change the tasks of EU local governments and it is expected that they will be more responsible for local waste management. As a result, the governments will have to reduce the volume of landfill waste and achieve appropriate levels of preparation of re-use, recovery and recycling waste5. These factors may create new possibilities for development and commercialization of innovative sorting and recycling technologies, among which the HISER products and innovations can be found.