Designing and building to minimise wasted materials is known as ‘lean construction’. The most sustainable developers will treat waste as a potential resource and reclaim or recycle as much as possible.

Background

The construction industry produces roughly 17 per cent of the total waste production for the UK, about 4 times that of householders. This equates to 70 million tonnes in the UK, or 24kg per person per week. Although much is recycled for use as bulk fill, little is reclaimed for high grade uses.

In addition to this, in Nottinghamshire, each person creates about half a tonne of waste each year. Almost 70 per cent of this is sent straight to landfill while the remainder is reused, recycled, composted or burned to provide energy. To collect, recycle and dispose of this household waste costs £18.9 million per year – about £60 per household and this cost is expected to double by the year 2020.

Landfill for both construction and household waste is usually the least sustainable option and lowest in the Government’s waste hierarchy because valuable natural resources are lost, methane emissions add to the greenhouse gas effect and elaborate pollution controls are often necessary. Suitable landfill sites are becoming scarce and the impact of the 1996 Landfill Tax to promote recycling and composting will raise costs further. Although landfill will still be needed in the short term, it makes environmental and economic sense to seek alternatives wherever possible.

Whilst recycling and composting are seen as highly sustainable options, the best control method is to reduce the amount of waste produced in the first place. Developments should be designed so that waste is minimised during construction and building users are encouraged to recognise its value and also the cost of disposing of it.

When the value of raw materials, energy and unproductive labour is accounted for, the real cost of waste is often 5 to 20 times the cost of disposal.

Forces for change

• EU and UK Government targets to reduce landfill and increase recycling and composting.
• Scarcity of landfill space.
• Landfill disposal costs set to double by 2020.
• Greater public awareness demands better environmental solutions.
• UK strategy for Sustainable Construction “Building a Better Quality of Life”. (2000)
• Recognition of the need to reduce our consumption of natural mineral resources by recycling or using alternatives.