Waste and Resource Efficiency

Moving to a world with zero waste

In 2016* the UK generated 66.2 million tonnes of non-hazardous construction & demolition waste, of which 60.2 million tonnes was recovered. This represents a recovery rate of 91.0% and is great progress for our industry when we were targeting “Halving waste to landfill”. However we must now move to a world with zero waste.

We need to think about the bigger picture as we become more aware globally about the impacts of our throwaway culture. It is estimated that by 2050 there could be more waste plastic in the ocean than fish and that if everybody used resources at the same rate as an average EU resident, we would need 3 planets to sustain ourselves.

The true cost of waste in a project is often underestimated.

It is estimated by Zero Waste Scotland that 13% of raw materials ordered are discarded unused. With many main contractors struggling to make 2% profit margins we need to understand that by reducing waste we will increase our efficiency and profitability.

Most waste is produced on-site through: over-ordering; ordering the wrong thing; damage by mishandling materials; off-cuts; inadequate storage of materials; and unnecessary packaging of construction materials, e.g. plastics and cardboard.

In addition, reducing our consumption of raw materials and being more efficient with what we use results in a wide range of environmental and social benefits associated with the consumption of fewer resources and the disposal of waste products. Clearly there is a cost saving too.

(*2016 is the latest year for which figures are published by DEFRA -March 2019 update: UK Statistics on Waste).

The waste hierarchy