How do you measure up? WRAP launches major new voluntary agreement to halve waste to landfill
Construction in Scotland is set to change thanks to a new voluntary agreement launched by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme). For the first time, major construction clients and contractors are asked to sign up to halve the amount of waste sent to landfill by 2012. Key industry stakeholders have already signed up including the Berkeley Group, Bovis Lend Lease, Laing O’Rourke, Stanhope plc, Defence Estates, SEGRO and Willmott Dixon. The agreement comes at a time when the economic argument for waste reduction is growing in resonance.
The Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Richard Lochhead welcomed the agreement: "I am pleased to see such ambitious steps being taken to reduce the amount of construction, demolition and excavation waste sent to landfill in Scotland.
"With around 11 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste produced each year – it is the largest single contributor to landfill in Scotland.
"While there has been good work done in recent years on reducing and recycling waste, we must do more to tackle business waste. It is currently a very challenging time for the construction industry but there are financial benefits to be had from reducing waste, and from drawing up Site Waste Management Plans, as well as the more obvious environmental benefits.
"Designing waste out of the system and reducing the amount sent to landfill will ultimately produce savings for the industry."
Iain Gulland, WRAP Director for Scotland stressed the opportunity that waste reduction presents in the current economic climate: "The business benefits that good and best practice waste management can offer throughout the construction supply chain are now more important than ever before. By making more efficient use of materials and avoiding landfill there are clear cost savings and well as environmental benefits for the industry.
"The true cost of waste is over 10 times higher than the cost of disposal, once the value of the wasted materials is taken into account. In many cases waste is simply materials which have been surplus to requirement so by avoiding waste there will be an obvious impact on the cost of a particular construction project."
The construction industry as a whole has already made significant progress on waste reduction to date but WRAP is keen to stress further opportunities for action. There are sound environmental, corporate and financial reasons for committing to halve construction waste to landfill, but more needs to be done if the industry is to succeed in collectively halving its waste to landfill by the 2012 benchmark. The construction industry creates one third of all waste produced in the UK and the Cabinet Secretary called for the sector to embrace this opportunity and lead the way for other sectors of UK business to follow.
The voluntary agreement has been developed in consultation with the industry and focuses on providing a robust framework for measurement and reporting on progress against targets to reduce waste to landfill. WRAP, in partnership with Envirowise, has a key role to play in providing practical support and tools to help implement the agreement. Signatories to the agreement will benchmark, measure and report progress, enabling WRAP to produce annual performance data for the sector.
Editor's notes:
The Construction Commitments: Halving Waste to Landfill first breakfast meeting was held at the Dalmahoy Hotel, Edinburgh on 9 October.
For more information, visit the WRAP website www.wrap.org.uk/construction or call the WRAP helpline on 0808 100 2040 and request a brochure.
1. WRAP helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change.
2. Established as a not-for-profit company in 2000, WRAP is backed by government funding from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
3. 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.
4. More information on all of WRAP's programmes can be found on www.wrap.org.uk
5. The Construction Commitments: Halving Waste to Landfill is supported by Government, and the Strategic Forum for Construction as an integral part of delivering the Construction Commitments; this approach is also backed by industry bodies, the UK Green Building Council, and Constructing Excellence.
