Halve landfill, says WRAP

Pressure is growing on the construction industry to halve the amount of materials waste going to landfill in the next six years.

The latest call comes from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Sustainability Forum (SF) and follows thethe the Strategic Forum for Construction’s recent decision to focus on the issue as a key component in sustainability.

They will now work together to help industry achieve the target.

UK construction consumes more than 400m tonnes of materials each year, generating over 100m tonnes of waste. Around 30 mmillion tonnes of it end up as construction waste going straight to landfill..

Ian Coull, chair of the SF, said: “FIn order for the industry to improve its sustainability, we must set targets and goals for reducing waste and improving the use of resources. This goal to halve waste by 2012 is an excellent place to start. It’s now up to the entire industry supply chain to take action, not only for the environment, but also to deliver cost and efficiency savings.”

Some measures have already been identified which could have significant effects. In the Thames Gateway regeneration, waste reduction on planned new housing alone could amount to 1,000,000 one million tonnes, representing savings in materials and landfill costs of more than £600 m.

WRAP’s chief executive, Jennie Price, commented: “The UK construction industry is going to be under the spotlight over the next few years with the 2012 Olympics and the continuing development of the Thames Gateway. These are excellent opportunites to show the world what best practice can achieve, and make a substantial difference to reducing the industry’s impact on the environment.”

Some organisations have already set minimum requirements on waste and recycling, including the Oolympic Delivery Authority and the Major Contractors’ Group.

[Contract Journal, 29 November 2006, p13]