Nigel Griffiths, construction minister for the United Kingdom’s Department of Trade and Industry is calling for voluntary guidance to both boost the recycling of material by the construction industry.
According to Griffiths, the move would save the British construction industry around Pounds 100 million (about US$185 million) as well as reduce the amount of waste they produce.
Each year the construction industry produces around 92 million metric tons of waste, including an estimated 13 million metric tons of unused material. The new guidance is designed to help building firms procure and use materials more efficiently and provides advice on re-use and recycling of materials.
DTI research shows that use of this guidance could help the industry save around 20 percent of its materials.
The DTI is aiming to sign up at least 50 percent of the top 2000 contractors in the UK.
Griffiths encouraged the industry to adopt the new voluntary code of practice. "The estimated amount of waste in the industry is a grim figure. This new guidance offers a common sense, flexible and practical approach to cutting waste of vital building materials.
"The guidance covers information that will help provide significant efficiency savings for companies; reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill sites; and identify materials for re-use.”
By taking a more proactive move toward recycling building waste, Griffiths stated that companies would see a “massive boost for companies of any size.”
Dennis Lenard, chief executive of Constructing Excellence, the DTI-backed industry body tasked with developing and improving the UK construction industry, said "The construction industry has made advances handling waste in recent years introducing better on-site logistics and lean-thinking principles to a number of projects, but there's no doubt there is still significant progress to be made.
"This new Voluntary Code will play an important part in giving construction firms practical advice on how to reduce waste, meet their environmental responsibilities, and ultimately help them achieve a more efficient, sustainable and productive future for the industry."
The DTI led a working group that prepared the Site Waste Management Plans guidance that includes a checklist of key topics for consideration and data sheets which list waste materials and how they should be disposed. The voluntary code of practice will be distributed through a series of regional seminars over the coming year to be run by Constructing Excellence and Envirowise.
The impact of the code will be assessed after a year and the DTI will consider options for its future implementation.
The SWMPs Guidance for Construction Contractors and Clients: Voluntary Code of Practice was launched July 8. The voluntary code of practice was produced by a working group, chaired by the DTI, with members from a wide variety of organizations, including Constructing Excellence, Envirowise, Carillion, Crane Environmental, DEFRA, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Environment Agency, the Sustainability Forum and WRAP.