Waste Minimisation
Every year in the UK 106 million tonnes of material is thrown away by the construction and demolition industry, representing approximately one third of all waste and making it the single largest waste stream. Of this, 34% is sent to landfill, 50% is reused (mainly aggregates) and only 16% is recycled.When construction material is thrown away there is a waste of the embodied energy used to produce that material in the first place and to transport that material to its destination.
By managing and minimising waste you can reduce the energy used for processing and transport of materials and therefore reduce your CO2 impact.
Total composition of waste from construction and demolition industries
WRAP (Waste Resource Action Programme) estimates that 13 million tonnes of material that becomes construction and demolition waste is discarded without being used and that by eliminating the over-order, just-in-case (JIC) culture would save five landfill sites a year.
| Waste typically costs businesses up to 4% of turnover. For example, AMEC, an engineering consultancy, estimates that for an 8 cu yd skip the actual costs are £1,343 made up of the costs on the right. | Skip Hire | £85 |
| Labour to fill skip | £163 | |
| Cost of materials put in skip | £1,095 |
Landfill Tax Escalator
In order to reduce the amount of waste being disposed to landfill and promote waste avoidance, reuse and recycling, the Landfill Tax was introduced in 1996 at £2 per tonne for inert waste, escalating at £1 per tonne per year. The tax was subject to an escalator of £3 per tonne each year so that from April 2007 it became £24 per tonne, but from April 2008 this increases by an increase of £8 per tonne, to £32, then £40 in 2009 and £48 in 2010. This significant increase will be key in driving initiatives such as considered in this report.
Aggregates Levy
The Aggregates Levy introduced in 2002 was to reduce demand for primary aggregates by increasing their cost and thereby make the use of recycled and secondary materials more viable. The Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund aims to reduce the environmental impacts per tonne of aggregates extraction and helps to stimulate the market for recycled and secondary materials.
The BRE produced a case study which looked at recycling, reuse and packaging, based on the Greenwich Millennium Village development
http://www.breweb.org.uk/pdf/project_guide.pdf
