As the date of CDE’s landmark CIRCLE symposium nears, the wet processing experts have revealed that after years of research for a solution to remediate soils contaminated with PFAS, it has made significant progress.
“When it comes to PFAS, we’re once again at the forefront, just as we have consistently been ahead of the curve in tackling some of the industry’s most complex waste challenges, from contaminated soils to hydrovac waste and trommel fines. Our focus has always been on pushing the limits of what materials can be safely recovered and reused for high-value applications within the construction industry,” CDE’s director of business development, Eunan Kelly, said.
For over seven years, CDE has invested millions in the pursuit to engineer a solution for PFAS contamination, one of the most pressing environmental and public health challenges of our time. As part of this work, CDE formalised a PFAS Taskforce, a team of 15 dedicated engineers headed up by Eunan that has been working tirelessly to analyse 60 contaminated sites throughout Europe, conduct hundreds of laboratory tests on samples of materials, and develop 30 trial solutions.
The result of this concerted effort is one million tonnes of material recovered across six customer projects, and two patent-pending solutions.
With between 5,000 and 10,000 different compounds, the scale of PFAS is made even more challenging by an emerging field of research: PFAS precursors.
PFAS precursors are man-made chemicals that can break down over time into what are known as legacy PFAS. Precursors are often missed by conventional testing that only look for legacy PFAS, making them an underestimated source adding to long-term contamination.
“CIRCLE is the precursor to a bigger movement in the industry,” Eunan commented.
“It’s the incubator for a new connected community of global experts with a singular focus: to improve the implementation of the circular economy and tackle PFAS. The event is just the beginning; a space where we’ll come together to share insights. It’s beyond May 7th when the real work starts. That’s when the community we’re building will come to the fore and lead the charge on forever chemicals.”
Eunan emphasised the immense scale of the PFAS problem: “There are some 30,000 sites in Europe and the United States that are contaminated and it’s said 99% of the global population has measurable levels of PFAS in their bloodstream. The urgency of addressing PFAS can’t be overstated.”
As reported by the European Environment Agency, the Forever Pollution Project has estimated that there are around 23,000 PFAS-contaminated sites in Europe; of these, approximately 2,300 are considered ‘hotspots’ with high levels of pollution that may pose a threat to human health[1].
It will cost €2 trillion and take 20 years to get rid of all PFAS, according to the Forever Lobbying Project[2].
Much of CDE’s work in the field of PFAS contamination will be centre stage next month at CIRCLE, an online symposium exploring the future of waste recycling and circularity.
With dynamic sessions led by industry pioneers, policymakers, and innovators, the event will offer a rich programme designed to spark ideas and drive action. Attendees will gain exclusive access to globally recognised keynote speakers, in-depth case studies, and forward-thinking discussions that tackle the most pressing challenges in waste, construction, and materials management.
CIRCLE symposium takes place online on 7th May. For more information and to secure your place, register online today at www.cdegroup.com/circle2026.
