World Demolition Summit puts recycling in focus

Creating concrete planters from old TT slabs is one example of how demolition waste can be reused (Image: Tscherning)

Kasper Sørensen of the leading Danish demolition contractor Tscherning will join independent environmental consultant Marianne Hedberg and Eunan Kelly of wet processing experts CDE Group for the session.

Under the guidance of moderator Jim Graham from Winter Environmental, the panel will discuss how demolition can move beyond simple waste management toward true resource recovery, exploring both the opportunities and challenges of keeping materials in circulation.

Sharing their expertise and experience in the field, they will debate the economics of reuse and high-quality recycling, how greater demand for recovered materials can be created, and the importance of collaboration across the value chain.

The discussion will also look ahead to how resource recovery could reshape the demolition industry over the next decade, before opening up for a short Q&A.

Kasper Sørensen, production director, Tscherning A/S

With nearly 25 years of experience in the Danish demolition sector, Kasper has overseen the successful delivery of more than 3,000 projects of varying scale and complexity. He is responsible for all demolition operations at Tscherning, playing a pivotal role in shaping both the company’s project execution and its strategic vision.

Widely recognised as one of the country’s foremost authorities in his field, Kasper has spent over a decade pioneering innovative approaches to material reuse, recycling and circular economy principles within the industry.

Tscherning itself is a dominant force in driving the industry’s transition from traditional waste management to a true circular economy. The company treats every demolition site as a resource hub, enforcing a strict ‘comply or explain’ policy to ensure materials are meticulously source-separated for maximum recovery.

The team famously proved the viability of large-scale circular construction by building their own corporate headquarters using 89% recycled and upcycled materials harvested directly from their own demolition projects.

Marianne Hedberg, environmental consultant, MH Miljöbygge

Marianne is an independent consultant specialising in environmental management and sustainability within the construction and demolition sectors.

With a degree in bio-geoscience and a technical qualification in chemistry, she has spent more than 30 years helping companies improve environmental performance, meet regulatory requirements and deliver on increasingly demanding sustainability objectives.

During her career, Marianne has held roles as a process engineer, a municipal environmental engineer, environmental coordinator at Peab (one of the Nordic region’s largest construction and civil engineering companies) and environmental expert at Byggföretagen, the Swedish construction federation.

Through her own consultancy business, she advises contractors on compliance, waste management, hazardous substances, sustainable product selection, management systems and training. Her expertise spans legislation, circular resource management, waste recycling and sustainability strategy.

Eunan Kelly, director of business development, CDE Group

Head of business development for CDE, Eunan bringing over 20 years of experience in wet processing technologies for the construction and recycling industries. At CDE, he has played a key role in advancing sustainable materials recovery, with a focus on transforming challenging waste materials into high-value resources.

In recent years, Eunan has specialised in the development of solutions for complex material recovery applications including PFAS-contaminated soils. His expertise lies in designing technically and commercially viable, site-specific systems that support regulatory compliance, land reclamation and circular economy goals.

As a pioneer in wet processing and waste recycling technology, CDE engineers advanced washing plants that actively wash, scrub and separate heavily contaminated construction, demolition and excavation (CD&E) waste.

Its heavy-duty grit and sand-washing systems strip clay and contaminants from crushed concrete and brick, allowing demolition firms to recover spec-grade, high-value sand and stone while recycling up to 90% of the process water.

Jim Graham, principal, executive vice president, Winter Environmental

Jim has more than 48 years of experience across environmental remediation, demolition and industrial decommissioning, with involvement in more than 3,500 projects across the US and Caribbean. He has worked at Winter Construction Company and its specialist abatement, demolition and remediation division, Winter Environmental since 1994.

His experience spans selective and structural demolition, industrial dismantling, contaminated-site remediation, radiological clean-up and emergency response, working for clients across government, energy, petrochemical, industrial, healthcare and other sectors.

Jim has also been involved in the development and adaptation of remediation technologies and has extensive experience of the practical challenges surrounding contaminated materials, their treatment and recovery.

He currently serves on the board of directors of the National Demolition Association bringing a broad industry perspective to the discussion around how demolition is evolving and the opportunities presented by greater reuse, recycling and resource recovery.

Want to hear more about creating value from demolition waste?  Register to attend WDS 2026 now.