CAT Finning FC fp ad.indd - Plant & Civil Engineer

The amount of construction,
demolition and excavation waste
produced in Northern Ireland
is estimated to be around 3.5
million tonnes per annum, of
which just over one third is
currently reused or recycled.
Across the UK as a whole,
the construction industry is
responsible for some 100
million tonnes of construction,
demolition and excavation
waste every year – and almost
20 million tonnes of this waste
ends up in landfill without any
form of recovery or reuse.
Contractors, though, can
achieve significant costsavings
and improve their
corporate profile by reducing
waste and re-using recycled
materials where possible.
Many contractors, consultants
and client groups signed up to the
WRAP initiative ‘Halving Waste to
Landfill,’ which aimed to reduce
the amount of construction and
demolition waste going to landfill,
so there is huge interest across
the industry in recycling materials.
Latest UK statistics to hand – for
the years 1999 to 2008 - show
the proportion of construction
and demolition waste recycled
by crushers and screeners has
increased from 35 per cent to
61 per cent. The proportion of
construction and demolition
waste sent to landfill has
decreased from 37 per cent to 22
per cent and the amount of waste
going to exempt sites has fallen
from 27 per cent to 13 per cent.
Since then, we can assume those
figures have risen substantially
as contractors become ever
more aware of the need to re-use
materials where possible, if not
to divert from landfill, then to
become more cost effective
and operationally efficient.
Contractors can do much
to reduce the potential for
construction waste. Common
sense and simple steps include
ensuring correct quantities of
materials are ordered in the
first place, implementing a
management plan to help reduce
surplus material and ensuring
contracts for construction
and demolition work require
waste to be segregated and
stockpiled for recycling.
In most cases soil and rubble can
easily be diverted from landfill
by processing and re-using for
purposes such as landscaping or
as aggregate for roads; leftover
masonry material can be crushed
and reused in driveways.
As far as demolition waste
is concerned, this can be
considerably reduced by
salvaging as much as possible
for re-use on other projects –
items such as wooden doors,
waste and recycling news
Getting to Grips with
Construction Waste
The construction industry in Northern Ireland is a key contributor
to the national economy, providing employment for around 70,000
people and producing in excess of £2 billion turnover a year.
plumbing fixtures, cabinets,
windows, fireplaces, stonework,
and ceiling and floor tiles.
One WRAP survey, for example,
based on nine pre-demolition
audits carried out by BRE
and which included schools,
residential and industrial property,
offices and hospitals concluded
that the recovery potential from
average demolition arisings was
thus: 28% of materials could be
re-used; 68% could be recycled;
and only 4% was diverted to
landfill. All of which results in
substantial financial savings.
Handling construction waste,
of course, can only be done
effectively with the right
equipment to hand, so over the
next few pages, Plant & Civil
Engineer takes a look at what’s
available in the market…
PLANT & CIVIL ENGINEER
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