Knowledge update at the trade fair

Associations offer lecture series about timely topics at recycling aktiv and TiefbauLive 2017

Roaring engines, reverberating materials, and machinery in action: fascinating live demonstrations assure the uniqueness of recycling aktiv and TiefbauLive, the double trade fair which takes place on the campus of Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre from 27 to 29 April 2017. But this is only one side of the story. Throughout the duration of the fair, the practical demonstrations will be framed and augmented by a comprehensive specialized forum with in-depth lectures providing information about training, qualification and employee retention, future requirements for construction-machinery technology, and the latest methods for recycling a wide variety of substances.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the VDBUM and the DA will offer a collaborative, circa hour-long programme about employee qualification and educational concepts. The VDBUM’s managing director Dieter Schnittjer will shed light on themes such as “How do I attract trainees?,” “What career perspectives are available for young people in the construction industry?” and “What challenges do future machinery’s technology and digitization pose for their operators?” Alongside the high technical demands, the lecture will also focus on the individual responsibility of each employee and, to a special degree, on the responsibilities of the owners and managing directors.

Björn Müller, an expert for education and continuing education at the DA, will deliver a presentation offering insights into opportunities for education and continuing education in the demolition and recycling industry. The focal point is a three-year training programme, instituted in 2003, which qualifies its graduates as certified “building mechanics for demolition and concrete cutting”.

More plastic recycling is possible

Another series of lectures, jointly offered on Thursday by the bvse and the VDMA, will be devoted to plastic recycling. “More plastic recycling is possible when facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art technology, markets for secondary plastics are enlivened, and the flow of input into the facilities undergoes qualitative and quantitative improvement. If manufacturers would start bringing more readily recyclable packaging onto the market, then we would be able to make considerable progress”, says Naemi Denz, managing director of the VDMA-trade association Abfall- und Recyclingtechnik.

In his lecture about “Potentials and Limitations of Plastic Recycling”, Dr Thomas Probst from the bvse will: provide an overview of the relevant volumes, markets and material flows; describe the levels of plastic recycling that are applicable in the construction industry; and discuss the relevant legal framework for plastic recycling. “The recycling of plastic comprises both waste legislation and product laws. Furthermore, one must also comply with stipulations from the substance laws, which guarantee that the products are in accord with consumer-protection guidelines”, says Dr Probst, who will also offer expert explanations about the possibilities and obligations for the products of plastic recycling which result from the Green Public Procurement.

“Modern sensor-based sorting is becoming increasingly linked with the speedy evolution of imaging sensors and the potentials of contemporary image processing”, days Peter Funke from Steinert Elektromagnetbau GmbH. “Future models will include 3D scanners or laser scanners for environmental sensing. Examples in this context include new applications, such as the sorting of black plastics, which are not feasible with conventional technology.”

In a lecture entitled “Plastic Recycling: Products for the Construction Field”, Thomas Fischer from the bvse will provide an overview of the wide spectrum of deployed products made from recycled plastic, which range from portable fence bases, through cable conduits and drainage tubes, to turf-grid elements (ground grids).

Current questions about automobile recycling

With circa 140 members, the FAR is the only representative body, organized as an association, for automobile-recycling companies in Germany. Its chairman Siegfried Kohl will lecture on Thursday about the legal uncertainties involved in automobile recycling: “Opinions differ about the difference between the concepts of ‘used car’ and ‘end-of-life vehicle’. This makes it unclear whether a motor vehicle is genuinely an ‘end-of-life vehicle’ and must accordingly be disposed of as stipulated by the applicable laws. Unfortunately, the responsible authorities seldom verify the certificates of correct disposal. A solution is urgently needed for this environmental and entrepreneurial problem.”

When a rechargeable battery can no longer be recharged

In his lecture on Friday, Michael Knobloch from Genius Technologie GmbH will discuss safe storage and transport of lithium-ion batteries: “From the button cell in an e-cigarette, through the rechargeable battery for an e-bike, to the power packs for e-buses: there’s scarcely any industrial or consumer sector that does not rely on lithium-ion batteries. These energy sources have a bright future: demand for them is increasing exponentially and their energy density is growing at an equally accelerating rate. But damaged and defective batteries remain hazardous items. What possibilities exist to preventatively keep these dangers under control?”

Umbrella ordinance for substitute building materials / soil protection

Likewise on Friday, Stefan Schmidmeyer from the bvse will present an in-depth exploration of the consequences which the umbrella ordinance will have on the building-materials recycling industry. “With the draft bill of 6 February 2017, a legislative procedure that has lasted more than a decade enters its final round. A unified, nationwide and legally binding set of rules is indispensable for the building-materials-recycling industry in order to increase acceptance and encourage greater usage of substitute building materials. For the entire construction industry, it is decisive to know which fields of application and implementation for substitute building materials and which disposal possibilities in recycling, backfilling and land filling will be possible in the future. How simple, practicable, time- and cost-intensive will the new regulations be? Which shifts in the flow of materials will ensue? Can the set of rules of the umbrella ordinance ensure future supply reliability and safe disposal in the construction industry?”

Anyone who would like to add an extra dimension to his visit to recycling aktiv and TiefbauLive 2017 double trade fair is welcome to attend one or more of these lectures, which will give him a theoretical knowledge update to complement the practical understanding he has gained from viewing machinery in action. The lectures will take place in the specialized Forum in hall 2. The admission ticket to the fair entitles its holder to attend these lectures at no extra charge.