Pioneering rubble recycling technology from Yorkshire could help rebuild Ukraine after war

The Leeds-led two-year project has received UK Government funding under the first round of InnovateUkraine, a £16million clean energy competition run by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development (FCDO).

The project supports Ukraine while generating growth and jobs in line with the Government’s Plan for Change.

University of Leeds is collaborating with a consortium of British, Ukrainian and Dutch organisations to deliver the Safe, Sustainable, and Swift Reconstruction of Ukraine (S3RoU) project to start recycling some of the estimated 1.4billion tonnes of concrete debris from bombed buildings.

Professor Hunyak, based at the Lviv Polytechnic National University, is taking on the challenge of using a greener way to help his homeland recover from the conflict.

He said: “We are grateful to be working with the University of Leeds to safely recycle rubble from destroyed buildings into new concrete so we can rebuild my country in a faster, cheaper and greener way.

“In Ukraine, we have no experience of recycling concrete – but sadly we have no shortage of rubble to recycle.

“Russia’s illegal war has had such a devastating impact in Ukraine. Inside the university where I work, there is a commemorative collage dedicated to former students who have become fallen soldiers because of the conflict, which serves as a tragic reminder of the terrible price we have to pay for our independenceB.

“Travelling around Ukraine, I have seen first hand the damage inflicted upon us by Russian bombing. The most evidence I’ve seen of the fighting is in Bucha and Borodyanka near Kyiv where residential buildings have been turned to rubble and there’s a lot of destroyed bridges. The situation is even worse on the front lines in the east and south of our country.

“My own home in Lviv narrowly escaped being reduced to rubble. A rocket shell exploded about 100 metres from my house a year ago. All the windows shook and it was really scary.

“Working to rebuild my country from the rubble is something which absolutely drives me. It is important we do this in a sustainable way because we want to play our part as a modern European country in tackling the challenges of climate change that affect the whole world.”

The new concrete is as strong and safe as conventional concrete.

The process involves crushing the rubble, stripping out any steel, textiles or hazardous materials, such as asbestos, and reverse processing it to produce the aggregate materials used to create fresh concrete.

The global construction industry faces challenges to minimise its environmental footprint practically from cement production, as well as managing demolition waste.

Traditional practices often lead to low-grade reuse of rubble, such as backfill or landscaping, which waste valuable resources and compromise environmental benefits.

It is hoped the that the University of Leeds’ rubble recycling technology can eventually be used to support other countries around the world affected by war or natural disasters including earthquakes.

Beyond emergencies, cement is estimated to contribute to between four and eight per cent of global CO2 emissions, so adopting this technology could help countries like the UK reach its their own net zero targets.

S3RoU’s project lead Professor Theodore Hanein, Chair of Construction Materials Science at University of Leeds’ School of Civil Engineering, said: “We have all seen the harrowing scenes of carnage in Ukraine on our television screens.

“We want to help its people rebuild their country in a way that causes less damage to our planet overall.

“If Ukraine reconstruction is carried out in the traditional way, the consequences for the environment will be hugely significant.

“Recycling rubble will help people rebuild buildings and their lives in a much more sustainable manner.

“By recycling rubble into low-energy and low-carbon construction materials, manufactured in a responsible, resilient, and sustainable manner, we will create a circular economy.

“We will develop technologies that can be used globally in post-conflict and end-of-life infrastructure reconstruction, as well as to help all parts of the world affected by disasters such as earthquakes and floods.”

Four Ukrainian organisations are partners on the project: Lviv Polytechnic National University; the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering, in Rivne, western Ukraine; Eco+Logic, a Kyiv-based waste management company; and ReThink, a Ukrainian NGO. Other collaborators include the University of Sheffield, University of Oxford, Imperial College London and Dutch firm C2CA.

The first reconstruction work using recycled rubble is expected to happen later this year.

Professor Hanein said: “This is a new technology so another challenge will be combating the public’s perceptions that recycled rubble might be inferior quality.

“Eventually we want to be helping to rebuild people’s houses so families can move back home but initially the plan is to demonstrate recycled rubble is safe by using it to reconstruct a community building such as a museum or town hall.

“We will show that re-using materials from waste concrete is exactly the same quality as using entirely new concrete and that your house is not going to collapse or have problems.

“We are proud to be playing our part in helping the Ukrainian people to rebuild their communities as they attempt to restore some normality to their lives.”

Leon Black, Professor of Infrastructure Materials in Leeds’ School of Civil Engineering, said: “I’m proud to be a part of this project, not just for its support in reconstructing the devastation inflicted by the invasion of Ukraine, but also in helping to develop and demonstrate technology that can be rolled out globally to reduce the environmental impact of demolition waste.”