The council has joined leading companies such as Balfour Beatty, Laing O’Rourke, Asda and Marks & Spencer in joining a voluntary scheme set up by the government-funded Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Organisations that sign up to the scheme are set and pursue a target for reduction in construction waste to landfill and set corresponding standards for their contractors.

They are also expected measure their progress and report results annually to WRAP.

John Frubin, programme design and sustainability manager for Manchester City Council said: “We are absolutely delighted to be the first English council to sign up to WRAP’s voluntary agreement.

“We are keen to make the council as green and sustainable as possible in all aspects of our work and signing up to WRAP’s Construction Commitment: Halving Waste to Landfill is a demonstration of our drive to achieving the target of halving the amount of waste we send to landfill by 2012.”

The commitment refers to the council’s own building waste and that of its contractors, not that of households and companies within the city’s boundaries.

The council was invited to discuss the extent of the in-house construction projects that will be covered by the agreement but had not responded to edie’s questions at the time of publication.

Sam Bond

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