The newly opened Green Marine plant in Maardu is the first facility in Estonia to handle construction and demolition waste on a large scale. Most of the work at the plant is carried out by machines.

The goal is to extract as many different materials as possible from construction and demolition waste, directing them primarily towards recycling or reusing them, such as for energy production.

"This is a sorting facility, so our finished products are mainly different mineral materials that can be used in place of natural gravel. The materials we sort here are then directed to other companies," explained Indrek Kajakas, a member of Green Marine's management board.

According to Kajakas, directing waste to recycling is extremely challenging, particularly synthetic materials like film and plastic, which are mostly exported abroad.

While Green Marine aims to increase local recycling in the future to reduce the carbon footprint from transportation, Estonia's overall waste volumes are so small that for many companies, local recycling is not economically viable.

According to Argo Luude, CEO of Eesti Keskkonnateenused (Estonian Environmental Services), it is important to ensure that recycling waste does not become more environmentally burdensome than incinerating it.

"If the energy and fuel consumption, and everything associated with those things, needed to achieve this is so high, the question arises – is it worth doing? What I personally see is that such questions are not really being asked. The goal is simply to direct all waste to recycling. Sure, you could even melt down a stone and make something out of it, but the question is whether that's sensible," said Luude.

Construction waste generates significantly more volume annually than household waste, but the situation with recycling construction waste is better compared to household waste.

Next year, Estonia's target for household waste recycling, according to European Union requirements, is set at 55 percent, but the current rate is only 33 percent. As a result, Estonia could face a fine amounting to several hundred thousand euros.

"We don't have information yet on whether we are at risk of this fine or not. What's important is that we improve recycling rates across different waste categories, both for household and construction waste," said Ivo Jaanisoo, deputy secretary general at the Ministry of Climate.

According to Jaanisoo, this is why Estonia is working to rapidly advance its waste reform, which is expected to be unveiled in a month.

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