More efforts made to stop building site waste

WRAP is attempting to up recycling rates in the construction and demolition industries by offering financial backing to waste contractors wanting to take a slice of this growing sector.


While there have been notable improvements in the recycling of rubble an other materials into aggregates, waste from the UK’s building sites still accounts for a huge share of the nation’s landfill and there is still a lot to do to address the problem.

One barrier to improving recycling rates is the sheer range of materials that construction and demolition activities generate.

Mixed C&D waste typically includes waste materials such as timber, plastics, glass, plasterboard, packaging waste materials like card, wood and plastic film and inert materials such as soil, masonry, brick & block, paving, tiles and ceramics.

“WRAP wants to support the development of innovative solutions for efficient collection, segregation and processing infrastructure for both site-segregated and mixed C&D waste from UK construction sites,” says Michelle O’Riley, WRAP capital grants manager.

“This funding competition aims to stimulate investment in facilities that will greatly improve the recovery and recycling of C&D waste materials.”

The aggregates fraction of material arising from C&D sites is increasingly being collected and recycled, but the majority of the non-aggregate fractions are currently being disposed of to landfill.

The Construction Waste Recycling Infrastructure Capital Support Programme is inviting applications that propose better collection, segregation and processing facilities for the non-aggregates materials from the C&D waste stream.

Any company can apply, from the smallest SME to the largest multinational and the programme will provide up to 30% of the capital costs of a programme such as plant, equipment, land and infrastructure though will WRAP will not offer support for the day-to-day running costs.

Mervyn Jones, WRAP’s programme manager for construction waste minimisation and Management, said: “Around 30 million tonnes of construction waste goes to landfill each year and contractors are being encouraged to reduce waste and be more resource efficient.

“This capital competition will help waste management contractors to provide the infrastructure and facilities to allow substantially more recycling of construction demolition waste that results in less disposed to landfill.”

Details of exactly what WRAP is looking for and the eligibility of specific projects can be found on the organisation’s website.

Sam Bond

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