Material Recovery and Recycling

Material recovery and recycling salvages reusable materials and recycles components to minimize waste and reduce demand for new resources during decommissioning (US EPA, 2026). This may include, among others, recovering structural steel from wharves and cranes, reusing concrete as aggregate where environmentally suitable, salvaging equipment for refurbishment or resale, recycling cables, piping, and metals, and reusing dredged materials in approved construction or restoration projects.

For DMC ports, material recovery and recycling can reduce landfill and disposal impacts, lower embodied carbon from new material production, support circular economy practices, generate economic value from recovered assets, and reduce demand for virgin resources.

Port decommissioning generates substantial material streams, including, among others, structural steel from wharves, cranes, and port equipment, reinforced concrete from quay walls, terminal surfaces, and buildings, cable and wiring from electrical infrastructure, mechanical equipment from cranes and cargo handling, and dredged sediments from channel and basin works. The scale of these material streams creates both environmental management challenges and circular economy opportunities.

Structural steel recovery is typically economically attractive given steel's high recyclability and market value. Steel from port demolition can be processed through scrap dealers and steel mills for melting and reforming. Clean, segregated steel achieves higher recycling value than mixed or contaminated material, supporting the case for design for deconstruction and careful demolition practices.

Concrete recycling involves crushing and screening demolition concrete for reuse as aggregate in new construction, road base, or other applications. The US EPA Sustainable Management of Construction and Demolition Materials web page notes that concrete is often recycled into aggregate or new concrete products (US EPA, 2026). Environmental considerations include testing for contamination before reuse and matching recycled aggregate specifications to intended applications.

Equipment salvage and resale can extend the useful life of cargo handling equipment, mechanical systems, and building services. Cranes and other major equipment may have substantial remaining useful life at the end of their first operational deployment and can be sold to smaller ports, relocated within port operator networks, or sold to international markets. Refurbishment programs support both continued use and eventual end of life recovery.

The Port of Rotterdam hosts recycling businesses in its port area, including metal recycling, and the Port of Antwerp-Bruges runs a circular economy program as part of its aim to be a climate-neutral port by 2050 (Port of Rotterdam, 2021; Port of Antwerp-Bruges, n.d.). These programs focus on circular industry in the port area rather than recovery from decommissioned port assets.