Reconstruction of the Quadrant Interchange for Swansea City Council initially proposed removal and disposal of significant volumes of excavated inert and tarmac materials, and importing virgin aggregates. Working collaboratively with our contractor Dawnus Construction from the start, we planned for and were able to reprocess and reuse all 3,500 tonnes of tarmac from the existing site in situ. In addition, 18,000 tonnes of inert demolition and excavation material from the project were sent to Derwen Aggregates for recycling, with 12,000 tonnes returned for use on site.

Use of the WRAP-AggRegain Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions Estimator Tool calculated that our chosen method to recycle materials on site and off-site, rather than use virgin materials, reduced overall emissions from the process by two thirds - down from an estimated 111 tonnes to 39 tonnes. Reprocessing, recycling and reusing also enabled us to significantly reduce the number of lorry movements, decreasing the ecological footprint and minimising disruption to shops and the general public in and around the site. Our approach saved a total of 365 lorry movements, amounting to 7150 miles. The project won the Waste Minimisation Award at the Constructing Awards.