Details of the project have been released by Hanson which allocated about 750,000 to recycling projects last year through the Landfill Tax credits scheme.
One of the larger amounts, a total of 116,500, went to the Greenwich Village waste audit and minimisation scheme run by the Building Research Establishment’s waste and environmental body. This saw a benchmark established at the start of the project for a 50% reduction in construction waste over the five years that the village will take to complete.
Performance measurements are recorded by a software package which is used by the site’s environmental manager to discuss and implement action plans to reduce waste. In the first three months around 20 actions were identified ranging from general points, such as raising awareness of waste issues to specific advice on storage and reuse of metals.
Main waste reductions have been achieved by:
- Selection of materials that are less liable to damage
- Segregation of key waste streams for timber and metals
- Site recovery and “take back” schemes. Waste plasterboard is now collected from the site, bagged and returned to the manufacturers.
In line with the overall aims of the project, the Building Research Establishment’s environmental body is to produce a standard design for waste minimisation on future construction sites as well as holding a series of seminars to promote the findings.
For Hanson, the Greenwich and other projects funded last year are some of the last that will be supported. The company is now scaling down its level of activity in environmental projects because it has sold its waste arm to the Waste Recycling Group. Future activity will be at a lower scale funded by credits from Hanson’s remaining inert landfill interest
Subscribe for free