New recycling site in Memmingen
“How can we make a contribution to the resource-conserving and future-oriented development of our industry?” The Geiger Group has been dealing with this question for some time, also as part of its Group strategy. It has now presented a proposed solution in the form of its new recycling site in Memmingen, which was officially opened on July 11, 2024. Here, in the immediate vicinity of the A96 and A7 freeways, Geiger has built a building materials, recycling and disposal site covering around 11 hectares on a former gravel extraction site, the realization of which can in itself be seen as an example of modern land recycling. The intention of the site is to process various old materials such as waste wood, building rubble and excavated soil and convert them into high-quality secondary raw materials using modern technologies so that they can then be returned to the material cycle.
The highlight of the site is a state-of-the-art mineral washing plant, which can be used to process mineral waste such as soil and old gravel. This produces around 90 % recyclable aggregates, while only around 10 % of the material has to be disposed of or otherwise recycled. The recycled secondary building materials are used in a variety of applications in the construction industry. In building construction, for example, they are used for so-called recycled concrete, while in earthworks and civil engineering they are used for soil stabilization, as a frost protection layer and for backfilling structures. They are also used in asphalt construction as an aggregate for the asphalt mix. In addition, biogenic substitute fuels and raw materials for the wood industry, for example for chipboard, are obtained from the recycled materials. By processing and using the recycled materials regionally, the added value remains in the Allgäu, which minimizes transport routes and strengthens the regional economy. “Our aim is to reuse the raw material in the same high-quality way as it was previously used. Modern treatment processes such as those we use at our new site help us to achieve this and at the same time reduce our dependence on new raw materials,” said the Geiger Group management at the official opening of the new Geiger site.
With the new site in Memmingen, the group of companies is sending a clear signal for a future-oriented circular economy and underlining its commitment to a resource-conserving construction industry. “Our aim is to help shape the development of the construction industry in a future-oriented way. That is why the circular economy is a central element of our strategy, which we are pursuing with a holistic approach. A key approach here is to significantly increase the proportion of recycled materials in our building materials,” says Martin Görner, Head of the Building Materials & Recycling business division. “We therefore see great potential to expand this circular economy concept at other locations as well.” The target groups of the recycling site in Memmingen currently include construction companies, demolition companies, waste disposal companies, cities and municipalities as well as private customers.
