Circulary

KALK A/S – established in 1976 – quickly discovered the need for lime products of high quality for restoring and maintaining historical buildings. The company’s focus is on recyclable and breathable masonry. KALK A/S want to promote their 100-pct. recyclable masonry strategy. To do so, they earned a Cradle to Cradle Gold certificate on all their products.

Since the 1960’s, the construction industry has used cement mortar which binds the bricks in such a degree, that it is impossible to separate the mortar and the bricks from each other. When the bricks and mortar can’t be separated, they are not recyclable, and they end up as road fill. Therefore, KALK A/S recommends the use of hydraulic lime mortar which allows the masonry to breath, free from any harmful substances, and it contributes to close the loop because the bricks can be separated and recycled. Additionally, the lime mortar is more elastic than cement, so the wall is easier put without risks of puncture damage in the rocks, and minimises the dilatation joints.

• KALK A/S wants to contribute to change and develop the “throwaway culture” that the current construction industry is undergoing. Therefore, KALK A/S has increased the focus on sustainability, and gone one step further – they have now Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Gold certification of the entire product line. With a C2C certification of the products, KALK A/S can document all constituent parts, and making them easier to recycle.
• Since the products are based on lime, which is a raw material, some of the components are biodegradable, and therefore already part of the biological circuit through which they can be returned to nature. Lime mortar consists only of calcium and sand, and is therefore free of any harmful substances. KALK’s vision is that the products also become part of a technical cycle where they are renovated, reused or improved, so that they can be incorporated into new products. Furthermore, the lime mortar has open pores that allows it to “breath”, and thus contributes to a healthy and comfortable indoor climate.
• In this way, there is no need to take in as much of the lime in the subsoil. At the same time, KALK A/S can save energy in the production process and transportation of new products. KALK A/S hopes to close this resource circuit by year 2030, so all of the products used in masonry construction will be reused. With the use of lime mortar, it is possible to separate bricks from each other making recyclability possible. By doing so, the lime can become part of a never-ending cycle, where raw materials maintain the quality and create value far beyond the individual product’s lifetime. At the same time, the production of lime mortar emits up to 30-pct. less CO² per m² wall than in the production of cement mortar.

• KALK A/S is challenged by customer’s habit, and therefore finds it difficult to explain customers the benefits of using KALK’s lime mortar products instead of using products of concrete/cement. This is caused by the fact that since the 1960’s, the building industry has been building in the exact same way with bricks which cannot be separated because of the cementation. But time is changing and the “green wave” in Europe is rolling, making it easier for KALK A/S to promote their environmentally friendly products.
• Not all colour suppliers can deliver colours that meet KALK’s demands. This shuts them off as suppliers, because they cannot live up to the standards required for Cradle to Cradle certified products. At the same time, KALK A/S experiences that many clients, consumers, and manufacturers have little or no knowledge about the Cradle to Cradle certification or what the certification’s different levels stand for.
• KALK’s lime mortar products are often first introduced into the building process when the architectural drawings are finished and therefore “locked”. KALK’s products are often not part of the design process, which means that the aesthetic expressions of the products sometimes do not fit the buildings.

The Confederation of Danish Industry