SOLUTION / PUBLIC SOURCE RECORD
Vartdal Plast's separation technology prevents concrete from going to waste
- Published 14 December 2022; updated 21 September 2026; estimated reading time 2 minutes. Marked available; listed under Circular economy and Architecture and construction.
- Vartdal Plast’s patented Berge® system is a mobile processing line for insulated concrete elements. High-pressure water jets and filtration separate expanded polystyrene (EPS) from concrete; the page says the separated material can then be reused or recycled. It also describes the process as able to extract hazardous polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from concrete, reducing pollution risk.
- The system is designed to be moved between demolition or construction sites. The article says it can reduce costs for transporting and treating concrete waste as well as divert material from disposal; it provides no quantified performance, throughput or cost figures.
- At the time of the article, Berge was a working prototype being refined before market launch. The page does not establish its subsequent commercial availability or deployment scale.
- Vartdal Plast is described as founded in 1961 and Norway’s largest EPS-solution manufacturer for food, packaging and construction. The page’s 70% EU construction-waste reuse/recycling target is framed as due “by next year” and is therefore a dated historical statement; its linked policy reference should be checked for current requirements.
- Linked to SDGs 9 and 12. The article cites construction and building operations as contributing roughly 40% of global energy-related CO₂ emissions, pointing to a 2018 report.
- Contact: Jan Endre Vartdal, Managing Director, jan@vartdalplast.no. Company: VARTDAL PLASTINDUSTRI AS, Vartdalsstranda 1072, 6170 Vartdal, Norway; vartdalplast.no.