Rotor dispatched photographer Delphine Mathy to capture the sector of mater-ial reuse in Belgium. Mathy photographed the storage spaces and showrooms of four dealers in materials that Rotor mapped out and documented in the online database opalis.eu. Mathy’s photographs testify not only to the specific know-how of the traders, passed down from generation to generation, and the kind of machinery and equipment needed to mine, clean and stack the materials, but also to the often picturesque nature of some storerooms and warehouses, and the at times astonishing architecture of showrooms and display cases.

Maris is a family business in Heist-op-den-Berg with more than thirty years of experience and know-how in the salvage of natural stone to make cobblestones and other floor elements. Maris has various machines for transforming and processing stones, such as one for sawing cobbles in two. The company is also active in the installation of cobblestones. For instance, it was responsible for laying the cobbles on the Grand-Place of Brussels and the Grote Markt of Lier. It also handled the dismantling of the bluestone of ‘t Zand in Bruges.