Construction Industry Produces 37% Of UK Waste

The British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) is launching a report into effective and sustainable construction waste management at its AGM on 19 July. The research highlights that the UK construction industry is responsible for some 37% of the waste generated by the UK. According statistics in 2002-2003 the UK produced 89.6m tonnes of construction waste ,the equivalent weight of 12,744 QE2s of which only 51% of which was recycled and 37% went to landfill.

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) figures (from DEFRA) suggest thats construction industry waste is even larger still , they have it at some 109 million tonnes of waste per year.

The CIOB is calling for all construction projects, involving more than 30 days or 500 person days of construction, to plan and implement a Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP) in order to encourage more efficient use of materials and reduce waste crime.

They are also calling for the government to consider incentive based schemes that encourage the industry to reduce waste; along with inspection and enforcement tied in with existing regulatory checks.

Michael Brown CIOB deputy chief executive commented, “As an industry we can’t just rely on construction companies with an ethical approach to the environment to take up the slack for those that show little concern for the use and misuse of our resources. We need a change of behaviour that requires everyone to reduce waste. Without the appropriate regulation and teeth we fear that SWMPs will only be used by larger operators who have an interest in environmental issues.