First waste management contractor signs up to WRAP's Halving Waste to Landfill agreement
The first waste management contractor to sign up to the WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) Halving Waste To Landfill agreement has said that for them, diverting 100% of construction, demolition and excavation waste from landfill is an achievable and realistic target.
Birmingham-based Premier Waste UK became the first waste management contractor to sign up to WRAP’s Halving Waste to Landfill agreement. This voluntary framework has been devised to help the industry work towards halving the amount of construction, demolition and excavation waste sent to landfill by 2012. The target, adopted in the Strategy for Sustainable Construction launched last year, is viewed as being both environmentally and financially critical – due to restricted landfill capacity and the continually increasing costs of waste disposal.
Established in 1988, Premier Waste employs 67 people and currently draws on innovative processes and technology which enables it to divert almost 98% of its clients’ waste from landfill. The company intends to increase this figure during 2009, setting itself a target of recovering all the waste it collects from clients and sending nothing to landfill.
Wayne Clark, Operations Director at Premier Waste UK, said that signing up to WRAP’s Halving Waste To Landfill agreement was viewed as an important step for the business and that it would help them demonstrate their commitment to best practice and differentiate them in the eyes of their clients.
He explained: “We’ve been banging the waste recovery drum for the last seven or eight years, so we were really pleased when we saw that WRAP was launching a framework to help the industry work together more closely and push the boundaries of what can be achieved. Disposal of waste to landfill is becoming an increasingly expensive option, so recovering waste in ever greater amounts is really the only sustainable answer in the long term – from both an economic and environmental perspective. We’ll be working to increase our diversion rate to 100% this year and we think this is an extremely realistic target.”
Mike Falconer Hall, Materials Recycling Programme Manager at WRAP, added: “When we consulted with the construction industry ahead of launching the Halving Waste To Landfill agreement, the feedback from the majority of the contractors we spoke to was that they could most probably achieve a 50% reduction in the waste sent to landfill from their construction sites – but only if their waste contractor partners were committed to the target as well. We’re therefore extremely pleased to see Premier Waste UK have signed up to the Halving Waste To Landfill agreement and we look forward to more waste management contractors signing up in the coming weeks and months.”
He continued: “As waste disposal becomes a more costly process for construction clients, the waste contractors that can show they’re taking a proactive position on improving recovery rates are the ones that will benefit most.”
Since it was launched in October last year, more than 40 organisations have now signed up to WRAP’s voluntary agreement - including leading clients, developers and contractors such as Land Securities, Defence Estates, retail company ASDA, Bovis Lend Lease and Laing O’Rourke.
For more information on the Halving Waste To Landfill agreement – including how to sign up - visit the WRAP website www.wrap.org.uk/construction or call the WRAP helpline on 0808 100 2040.
Visit the Wall of Fame to see all of the signatories.
Editor's notes
- WRAP helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change.
- Established as a not-for-profit company in 2000, WRAP is backed by government funding from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Working in seven key areas (Construction, Retail, Manufacturing, Organics, Business Growth, Behavioural Change, and Local Authority Support), WRAP’s work focuses on market development and support to drive forward recycling and materials resource efficiency within these sectors, as well as wider communications and awareness activities including the multi-media national Recycle Now campaign for England.
- More information on all of WRAP's programmes can be found on http://www.wrap.org.uk/
Contact Details
Toby Barker
Camargue PR
Tel: 01242 577277
Simon Gill
Camargue PR
Tel: 01242 577277
Nicola O'Driscoll
WRAP Press Office
Tel: 01295 819677
