Zero waste

Zero Waste to Landfill by 2012

The construction process consumes vast quantities of natural resources – over 400 million tonnes per annum according to Central Government.  Our industry also generates more than 30% of the UK's waste, of which only 50% is reused or recycled with 60 million tonnes being sent to landfill.

Reducing waste to landfill means reviewing the whole construction process, from design, demolition through to completion.  It isn’t about achieving the highest recycling rates from waste management companies, although this is important.  It’s about designing out waste in the first place and during 2009 Willmott Dixon has examined ways to improve performance.

Many developments in the public sector are governed by requirements that go beyond those of the private sector.  For example social housing has to meet rules on space and adaptability in addition to the Code for Sustainable Homes and Building Regulations.  Historically non-compliance within these rules has been very difficult to identify until projects are being physically delivered on site, which has lead to significant design modifications whilst buildings are being constructed; this is a wasteful process. 

To overcome this, we introduced our unique software called Thinkspace which helps designers comply with regulations and legislation before work starts on site. This ensures that time and costs are reduced.

Zero Waste to Landfill: Waste Management

Our record in waste management continues to improve on projects, and as Rick  Willmotthas already noted, many sites are diverting more than 95% of waste from landfill.  Currently the average construction based activities for 2009 are managing to divert over 85% of waste from landfill. This compares with 72.2% in 2008.

Forty-four waste contractors have been audited to ensure we work with the best performing companies, with performance figures applied to detailed Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP) data to calculate diversion from landfill performance.  All Construction data is reported to WRAP’s Waste to Landfill Reporting Portal.

To ensure effective use of SWMPs, all pre-construction teams have received training and all sites have at least one trained Waste Champion.  We also provide training to our subcontractors to help them obtain a recognised environmental management system such as Acorn, Green Dragon or ISO 14001.

See one example of how we reduce waste to landfill at the below link:

http://www.seeda.org.uk/pathwaytozerowaste/casestudieslist.asp