Peab to scale up brick reuse

Swedish contractor Peab has signed a two-year nationwide framework agreement with brick reuse specialist Brukspecialisten.

The aim is to scale up the reuse of brick from demolition projects. The brick will then be returned to the construction market.

The partnership seeks to simplify collection and create financial incentives for reuse, establishing a more efficient and long-term material flow for brick that would otherwise end up as waste.

According to the two companies, large-scale reuse requires a simple and practical system. It must handle material from demolition and also bring it back to market. The brick needs to be captured in time. This applies even when it is not yet clear where it will be reused.

“If we are to succeed in scaling up reuse, it has to be simple and financially attractive to recover the material at the demolition stage. Through our partnership with Peab, we are creating the conditions for a more efficient material flow, where brick can be recovered on a larger scale and used in new construction projects,” said Jacob Steen, CEO of Brukspecialisten.

No need to buy back material

Under Brukspecialisten’s model, those who hand in demolition brick are not required to buy back the same material. Instead, the company collects brick from multiple demolition projects, then processes and combines it into ready-to-use product blends. These blends are available whenever demand arises in new building projects.

“We want to increase reuse in our construction projects and see great potential in recovering more brick from our demolitions. To succeed, we need solutions that are easy to apply in practice and that work across our entire operation. Our partnership with Brukspecialisten gives us better conditions both to take care of existing material and to use reclaimed brick in new projects,” said Peter Böhm, Head of Procurement at Peab.

The approach is already being put into practice at Göteborg Grand Central in Gothenburg. Peab is the contractor, and Brukspecialisten has supplied around 524,000 reclaimed bricks.