What a load of Rubbish (from the construction industry)!
Did you know in 2016 the construction industry accounted for 60% of all materials used, 33% of waste and 45% of emissions generated in the UK?
However, all scary statistics come hand in hand with an opportunity for change and in 2008 Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP) were introduced in a bid to reduce the amount of waste we are sending to landfill. SWMPs encourage all construction projects costing over £30’000 to record the volume of waste created and document it’s disposal.
So what impact have SWMPs had? A good one by the looks of things! Despite not being compulsory, since 2008 the construction industry has improved the amount of waste recovered from demolition and construction by >70%!
The next step, in the quest to reduce waste from construction, is to look to reducing waste at the design stage, in particular, aiming for an eco-friendly approach to the deconstruction of an existing build and the re-use/ recycling of these materials (e.g BREEAM award credits for the re-use or refurbishment of materials during the demolition stage!).
Waste is a big topic in the construction industry so look out for more thrilling reads on the JAW blog soon.
Want to read more? All the info from this post came from this article.
