Aggregates from ferrous slag (c) FEhS-Institute-Michael Wieschke

New laws in the EU have been created to strengthen the circular economy, an economic model aimed at minimising waste within the community and making the most of resources. This focuses on increasing the use of secondary raw materials, which include recycled metals, and slag. This law also aims to increase public supply.

The FEhS Building Materials Institute considers the planned measures in the EU Commission's ‘Political Guidelines 2024-2029’ to be trendsetting.

In 2020, the FEhS Institute and the European association EUROSLAG commissioned the ‘EU Public Procurement Directive’ to gather legal opinion for demanding sustainable resource management laws. These new laws brought together by the EU Commission are in line with these core demands.

About the FEhS Institute

For more than seven decades, the FEhS Building Materials Institute has been Europe's leading centre for research, testing and consulting on building materials and fertilisers made from ferrous and steel slags. 

With seven laboratories and a network of industry associations, authorities, standardisation bodies and institutions from science and research. The FEhS Institute are experts sought-after from customers all over the world.

About EUROSLAG

EUROSLAG, the European Association of ferrous slag producers and processors, is based in Duisburg and brings together 26 organizations and companies from 17 countries, including the FEhS Institute. 

As a European network for the production, use and development of ferrous slags and slag-based products, EUROSLAG's activities focus on research and technology, European standardisation, and internal and external communication. Every two years, EUROSLAG organises together with national partners the slag conference of the same name.

EU Public Procurement Directive’s call for a circular public procurement system

The legal opinion on the EU Public Procurement Directive calls for specifications for a ‘circular public procurement system’, a system that allows the public to supply recycled materials and looking at lower impact alternatives.

This would include the comprehensive approval of secondary building materials and their conditional preference in public procurement. Among other things, the importance of environmental criteria should be established in the allocation of public contracts, “aspects of environmental protection, the circular economy and resource conservation” should be mandatory in the specification of services and the non-approval of secondary materials should be justified in the contract award notices.

The FEhS Institute has been campaigning for many years at the political interfaces for improved framework conditions and the sustainable use of products containing slag. Building materials and fertilisers from the steel industry have been making an important contribution to the conservation of natural resources for many decades.