No more waste from renovation? Kiilto revolutionizes the global construction industry with an adhesive solution that enables full recyclability of used materials.

Kiilto, a Finnish company with over 100 years of experience in producing world-leading chemical industry solutions, presents a groundbreaking adhesive solution. The new adhesive solution makes, for instance, construction and renovation waste recyclable, and thus helps make the whole built environment more sustainable.  

Given that buildings use a large part of all consumed energy, causing more than 40 percent of global emissions, and that the demolition waste of buildings accounts for nearly a third of all waste, the climate conversation often revolves around the built environment and construction industry. 

Kiilto revolutionizes the construction and renovation industry with the launch of their Debonding on Demand solution, the first of its kind. The innovation significantly reduces the carbon footprint caused by the built environment as materials that are glued together can be separated from each other using for example heat and making demolition waste recyclable.  

The glue used in construction and renovation has been like a chain link that can’t be opened in any way. This has remained unattainable – until now. 

“In simplified terms, when a traditional adhesive dries and hardens, it forms a strong molecule chain, like a chain link used in locking the bicycle to a lamp post. The chain bonds the materials together and is very hard to break. With Kiilto’s chemical innovation, chain links can be opened in a controlled manner for the first time. This means that in the future, every renovator can renew elements like the tiling without breaking the tiles by dissolving the adhesive bond. This will significantly increase the recycling rate of the construction and renovation elements,” says Raija Polvinen, Kiilto's Chief Ecosystem Officer.  

For instance, in a bathroom renovation, it will no longer be necessary to break the surfaces down to the gypsum board level. With the debonding method, the mortar can be removed in a controlled manner and even the tiles remain intact and fit for second hand use. The grout is vacuumed up and returned to Kiilto for recycling. 

“What adds to my excitement is the extensive range of applications this innovation offers within the built environment, far beyond just buildings. Countless products in our everyday life, such as furniture, cars, aircrafts, boats, and electronic devices are impossible to produce without adhesives and hence struggle with recyclability challenges. The Debonding on Demand solution has the potential to enable recycling in all these contexts, and beyond,” enthuses Polvinen. 

Debonding on Demand is just the beginning – ecosystem to scale the impact 

Revolution can never be done alone. That is why Kiilto is looking for partners to collaborate with in creating and commercialising more of these kinds of SUstainable, Productive, Ecological, and Reusable, or SUPER, innovations for a better built environment currently responsible for 40 percent of global carbon emissions.  

“Through these cooperative ecosystems, we aspire towards a greener and more sustainable future. Innovations that reduce the burden on the environment not only create new products, but they also give the whole industry an opportunity to develop sustainably. Together we can revolutionize the built environment,” summarizes Raija Polvinen. 

Join the launch 

For the past 100 years, Kiilto has been making adhesives that last forever. Now Kiilto is developing adhesives that come off, with the goal to collaboratively create and commercialize even more innovations that make built environments more SUstainable, Productive, Ecological and Reusable. 

Kiilto will launch its groundbreaking innovation and the Kiilto SUPER Healthy Buildings ecosystem in Helsinki on September 14, 2023, at 9 am EET. The Live Stream can be watched (HERE) and the recording will be available at Kiilto.com. 

For more information, please contact: 

Raija Polvinen, Chief Ecosystem Officer  

Tel. +358 400 818 833 

E-mail: raija.polvinen@kiilto.com

You may download more pictures on the testing of the innovation in laboratory conditions here.

About Kiilto: 

• A Finnish family-owned business founded in 1919  

• Net sales €260M in 2022 

• Employs nearly 800 innovative top-level professionals in a total of nine countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Ukraine, the Baltic countries and Poland 

• Operates in four business areas: construction, industrial adhesives and fireproofing, professional hygiene, and consumer goods 

• Environmental leadership is a strategic focus and ambitious environmental goals are integrated in everyday decision-making 

• Kiilto’s vision is in 2080 

• Market leader in waterproofing solutions in Finland and leader in innovative bio-based industrial adhesives in Europe 

• Market leader in hand and surface disinfection solutions in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark 

Kiilto is a family-owned company based in Finland with over a hundred years of history and a vision looking ahead to 2080. Kiilto develops, produces, and markets chemical industry solutions in the fields of construction, industrial adhesives and fireproofing, professional hygiene, and consumer goods. The key principles underlying Kiilto’s operations are environmental leadership, closeness, and commitment to the future. Kiilto’s operations span 9 countries, and it employs around 800 people. In 2022, the group's net sales amounted to 260 M€. www.kiilto.com   

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