The Construction Products Regulation (CPR 305/2011) establishes the essential requirements that all construction materials marketed in the EU must meet, ensuring safety, performance, and sustainability. For projects incorporating agro-industrial waste into construction materials, this regulation is critical, as it defines the rules for their safe integration into the market.
Essential CPR Requirements Applicable to Agro-Industrial Waste
The CPR defines seven basic requirements (ERs – Essential Requirements). The most relevant for materials containing recycled waste include:
ER1: Mechanical Resistance and Stability
Construction materials incorporating agro-industrial must demonstrate:
- Compression/tensile strength
- Dimensional stability
ER3: Hygiene, Health, and Environment
- Hazardous emissions: Agro-industrial waste must not release VOCs, heavy metals, or particles above regulatory limits (e.g., REACH regulation)
ER7: Sustainable Use of Natural Resources
- Mandatory recycled content: The CPR encourages the use of valorized waste materials
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Required to demonstrate a reduced carbon footprint compared to conventional materials
Evaluation and Compliance Process
To commercialize a construction material containing agro-industrial waste, the following steps are required:
- a) Harmonized Standards (hENs) or European Technical Assessment (ETA)
- If no specific standard exists for a material, an ETA must be obtained from a Technical Assessment Body
- b) Declaration of Performance (DoP)
- A mandatory document that declares the performance of the material in relation to the ERs.
- Required data includes:
- Mechanical properties
- % of recycled content
- c) CE Marking
- A conformity mark under the CPR, requiring:
- Tests in an accredited laboratory
- Audit of the production system
