CEMEX has launched a new multi-service plant in the centre of French capital Paris, focused on the circular economy.
The building materials giant says the new plant, based in the northwestern suburb of Gennevilliers, will concentrate on the recycling and sale of more sustainable building materials, close to the capital city’s urban construction sites. CEMEX says the investment further demonstrates the company’s dedication to its Future In Action strategy – committed to net zero CO2.
The plant is located in an industrial port on the Seine with excellent motorway links. The 3.5 hectare urban site is intended to offer a wide range of circular economy services to the construction industry: reception of waste and excavated material, sale of materials and concrete, plus logistics services.
CEMEX says the Gennevilliers plant receives a variety of materials including rubble, construction waste, excavated material and inert or impacted soil, and operates a clear process to guarantee the traceability of the materials and save primary mineral resources. After being sorted according to their origin, these are crushed to produce recycled aggregates which are offered for sale locally or can be fed back into concrete manufacture.
The company adds that the non-recyclable inert waste is reused to restore quarries for nature conservation and beneficial after use, or transported via approved channels depending on its nature. Wherever possible, CEMEX France uses waterways for transport to reduce its CO2 emissions, in accordance with the Future in Action programme.
The Gennevilliers platform is an integral part of CEMEX’s strategy to develop a range of urbanisation solutions. Alain Plantier, director of materials France North, said: “Developing construction in high-growth urban locations requires circular economy solutions which mitigate climate change and save natural resources while improving the wellbeing of inhabitants.
“CEMEX is uniquely positioned to provide integrated solutions for building and maintaining more sustainable and resilient cities, and this new site demonstrates this perfectly. Clients in Paris need low carbon construction solutions which perform throughout their life cycle.”
The Gennevilliers platform, which will be ISO 14001 certified this year, will soon be certified as required for the port improvement charter, UNICEM CSR label, and Biodiversity commitment.
Plantier added: “This model, which is the first multi-activity platform of its kind, could be reproduced elsewhere to future needs – the Gennevilliers model is the starting point for a new era for our businesses.”
