Abstract
Abstract
In the construction industry the ambition to come to a circular economy will, with its vast material usage, be a hard nut to crack. This paper describes a research project part of the H2020 Cityloops project, in which it was expected that soil and sand depots could be an interesting subject to study. Already for many years and in multiple municipalities, these depots help to overcome mismatches regarding quality and quantity in demand and request of soil and sand. With the ambition to close material loops the construction industry might experience these kinds of mismatches also for an increasing number of other resources in the nearby future. Having positive experiences with her soil and sand depot, the municipality of Apeldoorn was open to give insights in the flows at her open-air soil and sand depot. The conducted research helped making processes transparent and valuable insights were gained. However, considering the great variety in building materials, products and components, it currently seems possible to handle only a small number of other material flows in the same way soil and sand are being handled and stored at a depot.