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Case history / Consorzio REC
Consorzio REC

The platform putting construction waste back into circulation

Development of a digital platform for waste traceability
Construction – Infrastructure

Consorzio REC

Consorzio REC ("Recupero Edilizia Circolare") is the first Italian consortium dedicated to collecting construction and demolition waste at Preliminary Collection Centres, with the aim of spreading circular economy practices among construction SMEs and craft businesses.


Born from an initiative by Federcomated (the association of building material retailers within Confcommercio), the Consortium brings together multiple players along the supply chain: retailers, recovery plants, hauliers and building material manufacturers. Today it counts 73 affiliated points of sale across Italy and the participation of major manufacturers such as Mapei, Heidelberg Materials, Xella Group, Velux, Fassa Bortolo, Geocycle-Holcim, Progress Profile and Marazzi Group.

The context

In Italy, the construction sector generates nearly 80.3 million tonnes of waste per year, equal to 53% of the total special waste produced (ISPRA 2024 data). A huge amount that requires a structured system to be managed in a circular way.

Consorzio REC is based on Article 185 bis of Legislative Decree 152/2006, which allows building material warehouses to become "Preliminary Collection Depots". This enables construction companies to deliver their waste directly to retailers, during the same trip in which they purchase materials for the construction site.


However, a digital system was needed to connect all the players in the supply chain (construction sites, hauliers, collection centres, recovery plants), tracking waste flows in real time and measuring the environmental impact generated by the service.

The objectives

To develop a digital platform that makes Consorzio REC's circular economy model traceable, measurable and scalable, facilitating the management of C&D waste and demonstrating the environmental value of the service through objective data.

Circularity's contribution

At Circularity, we developed the digital platform for Consorzio REC, designed to operationalise the circularity model of the construction supply chain and provide visibility into all material and waste flows.


The work was carried out on multiple fronts:

1
Digitalising flow traceability: every player in the supply chain can register, enter data on materials and waste, and view incoming and outgoing quantities in real time, along with their respective EWC codes.
2
Mapping recovery plants: the platform geolocates Preliminary Collection Centres across the entire country, allowing construction companies to find the delivery point closest to their site.
3
Measuring environmental impact: for each delivery, the impact is calculated in terms of CO₂eq saved, making the environmental benefit of the Consortium's activity visible and quantifiable.
4
Simplifying onboarding: the registration system is fully digital and accompanied by an operating manual, dedicated training for counter staff and operators, and support for the physical organisation of the collection area.

The results

The platform has made the Consorzio REC model scalable and replicable, turning a good local practice into a structured national system.


Today the Consortium counts 73 active points of sale and continues to grow, offering construction companies a concrete circular economy service: a single trip to deliver waste and purchase materials, saving time, fuel and emissions.


Thanks to the platform, every player in the supply chain has visibility into their own material flows, can report the quantities managed and demonstrate the positive impact generated with data.

  • A complete and fully functional digital traceability system
  • Geolocation of PCCs across the entire country
  • Measurement of environmental impact for each delivery
  • Continuous growth in the number of members
  • A scalable and replicable model on a national scale
Contatti

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