Resource efficiency and circular economy

Resources on this earth are very limited and we need to use them carefully. This means that products made from these resources should have a long life and then be not only classically recyclable (recycling economy), but also thoughtfully recyclable (circular economy). In the ’system‘ of the circular economy, all substances and materials are consistently recycled, never become waste, and nature remains untouched. That’s great! The circular economy ’system‘ focuses on waste and recycling management; closing loops refers to recycling as well as waste collection and treatment. Expandable! The following sentence applies to ductile iron pipes: I was a ductile iron pipe and I want to be a ductile iron pipe again. Perfect! In other words, according to the ‚recycling system‘. Hardly any other pipe system can make the same claim, because steel scrap, cast iron scrap or even old excavated cast iron pipes are melted down to produce ductile iron pipes, fittings or valves.

Two that go together

The circular economy clearly conserves or minimises the use of resources, while the recycling economy continues to use them. Thinking in terms of material flows from a life-cycle perspective takes into account the entire value chain from raw material extraction. That is why we use ductile iron.

From scrap to product

Ductile cast iron pipe systems can last for more than 100 years and have the advantage that they can be recycled as often as required. Pipes, fittings and valves are not made from limited fossil raw materials, but from high-quality steel scrap and cast iron scrap, most of which comes from regional material cycles. A network of around 7,000 dealers in Germany alone collects, shreds, sorts and returns the recyclable scrap to the product cycle. This means a continuous reduction in CO₂ emissions during production and the return of ‚waste products‘ to the product cycle. This is in line with the aim of a truly circular economy, i.e. using products and raw materials for as long as possible without problems and then returning them to the material cycle.

From product to resource efficiency

Ductile cast iron pipe systems are durable and 100% recyclable – with huge benefits because

the consumption of primary resources is virtually zero
the raw material of steel scrap and cast iron scrap is predominantly sourced from regional material cycles
the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is very good as the metallic input materials are almost 100% scrap
CO₂ emissions are already reduced during production
the useful life is easily over 100 years
‘waste products’ are returned to the product cycle
waste heat from production can be used as the basis for district heating
State-of-the-art plant technology significantly improves energy efficiency and reduces environmental impact
modern production facilities also reduce energy losses