June 2018

Recycling
TACKLING YOUR WASTE PROBLEM
Ben Jayes talks about his ‘light-bulb moment’ regarding recycling and explains what
contractors and other building products suppliers could learn from his recent experience.
Industry best practice tells us that up to 95%
of all construction site waste could be
recycled, as long as projects are meticulously
planned and surplus materials are sorted into
appropriate waste streams. It’s a positive
reflection on the construction sector that just
about every major contractor has embraced the
‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ mantra. Admittedly,
Vivalda came relatively late to the recycling party,
finding that most industry-backed initiatives had
closed up shop, given their success. However, the
positive uptake of recycling by all the big players
– who love to shout about sustainability in their
annual reports – has created an information
vacuum for smaller businesses keen to do the
right thing where waste is concerned.
Our initial research into waste recycling proved
less than fruitful at first. WRAP, the governmentbacked
initiative stopped actively promoting
construction waste recycling back in 2015. And
while the CIOB’s website suggested that it had
moved on to recruiting tomorrow’s construction
professionals, the CIC’s green construction panel
was looking at energy efficiency, not waste.
Clearly, all of the big contractors have been on the
recycling wagon for years, but there’s far less
information and support out there for companies
further down the food chain, and that includes the
long tail of smaller contractors and suppliers.
Encouragement for SME contractors
Despite this, our experience should bring
encouragement to SME contractors who cannot
afford the luxury of waste managers or
sustainability ambassadors.
Having embraced a new environmental policy in
early 2017, Hull operation has reduced its annual
waste bills by more than £10,000 or 75%.
Concerned about the increasing cost of landfill
charges and the volume of waste we were
producing, we were keen to explore ways we could
divert our four main waste streams – plastic, panel
board, insulation and metal – away from landfill.
Until January 2017, we simply threw all our
plastic wrapping, off-cuts of cladding and
insulation into skips. It was a huge waste that
was costing us around £1,400 per month in
collection and landfill charges. And those costs
were going to get bigger, not smaller.
Having installed a bailing machine, courtesy of a
local equipment provider, Vivalda Hull now has its
plastic waste collected and recycled free of
charge. Similarly, off-cuts of insulation panels are
now delivered to local building firms who can use
it as additional material for projects. Panel board
off-cuts, which are generally made from a variety
of materials such as fibre cement, HPL, ACM and
plastisol steel glass reinforced concrete, can be
used as a valuable resource. Finally, Vivalda has
installed an aluminium extraction unit, that turns
waste metal into a valuable commodity that goes
back into the manufacturing life cycle.
Support and interest
We have had a lot of support and interest from
the staff as well as local companies that are
interested in using the materials that we
previously threw away. In terms of capital cost,
the only kit we’ve needed to acquire is the plastic
bailer and the aluminium extractor.
Encouraged by the benefits of the recycling scheme,
at Vivalda we’re now looking to roll out a green
policy across all of its eight UK facilities, hoping to
reach out to local partners in the same way that has
proved so successful in the North East.
It’s been amazing what we’ve been able to
achieve with just a little bit of planning and
investment. To really make recycling work, we
“With a little
organisation and
planning you could be
reducing your waste
bills”
realised that it’s about good communication and
educating both staff, suppliers and local
businesses about the potential value that is
hidden within waste materials.
While the likes of WRAP and other waste
initiatives have moved on from the construction
industry, having done a good job of getting the
main contractors on board, it can be daunting for
those interested in adopting recycling strategies
in 2018. We have discovered that there is a lot of
good advice from the various equipment
producers in the market who helped us to
understand about sorting waste and getting us to
think about the ‘reuse’ element of the three Rs.
The biggest lesson we’ve learnt in the past year
though is the vital role good communication plays
in recycling. Getting the equipment on site was
one thing, but setting up agreements with other
local contractors, who would be willing to take our
waste for subsequent use was key to our
success. Without those ongoing dialogues, our
recycling policy would be gathering dust on a
shelf. Getting our own people to buy into the
scheme was another important consideration.
If you’re a medium sized that hasn’t yet looked
into recycling, it’s not too late. With a little
organisation and planning you could be reducing
your waste bills – and doing the right thing!
Contact Vivalda
0121 328 9381
www.vivalda.co.uk
@VivaldaLimited
58 TC JUNE 2018