Construction waste tool launched

The Scottish construction and demolition industry is being urged to reduce, reuse and recycle building and demolition waste through the launch of Waste Aware Construction - a new tool to tackle construction waste by introducing colour-coding for skips.

Developed by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), in conjunction with the Construction Confederation and the Scottish Waste Awareness Group, the new colour-coding system uses seven posters, each with a designated colour, symbol and one word explanation of the contents to be displayed on or by skips.

The system has been designed as a practical and affordable way to increase the segregation of recyclates at source and help on-site workers automatically associate colours and codes with the correct waste stream.

Thirty-eight companies have already signed up to Waste Aware Construction, which enables companies to create and download posters for free from its website (www.wasteawareconstruction.com).

Alasdair MacLennan, interim manager of ICE Scotland, said: “In Scotland alone, 2.32m tonnes of construction and demolition waste were recovered last year and 2.57m tonnes were landfilled - with figures like these the construction industry have a key role to  play in the drive to increase recycling rates.

“Feedback from the construction industry has told us that the colour coding system is an extremely effective way of providing all on-site workers with the necessary information to recycle waste materials.

"I hope that that this system will be embraced by many more companies within the construction industry as part of our ongoing efforts to reduce landfill waste in Scotland,” he said.