David Harris, CEO of offsite manufacturer Premier Modular, examines construction waste management in 2024 and explores how the industry can be more resource efficient.
Sustainable approaches to construction and demolition (C&D) waste management are developing gradually in the UK.
The latest official data shows that 63 million tonnes of C&D waste was generated in England in 2022 – 59.4 million of which was recovered.
However, the uncertainty around how much recovered waste went on to be fully recycled suggests there is still huge room for improvement.
With the industry at a sustainable crossroads, a far more resource-focused approach to building is needed to improve the UK’s waste reputation.
Understanding construction waste management
Until recently, construction has been slow out of the blocks when it comes to effective waste management.
Excessive material use, the complexities of live sites, and the inability to repurpose or recycle buildings at the end of their first lifecycle are all common challenges of traditional construction practices.
Whilst industry commitments and tightening regulations have led to more C&D waste being recycled effectively, there’s still a sizeable amount that ends up in landfill.
As most C&D waste, such as concrete, is not biodegradable, its presence contributes to the contamination and pollution of the surrounding environment.
Both construction companies and the government have their work cut out to improve circularity in the industry.
How to reduce construction waste
In a bid to get the ball rolling, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, has made the pursuit of a zero-waste economy for the UK a priority.
This sounds good on paper but will require the government to incentivise and empower the construction industry to transform its current approach to waste.
Being sustainable costs money, and without regulatory change and policy support, individual efforts to reduce waste could be, well, wasted.
Take plasterboard as an example. It’s a staple in the modern methods of construction (MMC) sector and whilst it can be disposed of in certain landfills, companies will often return waste plasterboard to the original manufacturer who goes on to process it into the raw material gypsum.
This saves the plasterboard manufacturer money in terms of procuring raw materials but comes at a high cost for MMC specialists who are charged for this recycling service.
As a solution, the government could revise the recycling system for plasterboard in a way that benefits both the original manufacturers and companies that rely on them. Other changes that could be considered include investment in waste infrastructure.
Too much focus is placed on converting waste to energy and exporting physical waste when government funding could instead support education on circularity and driving lasting behavioural change across construction and beyond.
A circular economy in construction: Saving money and the planet
According to a report from the German environmental organisation CleanHub, the UK is the third largest exporter of plastic waste globally behind Japan and Germany.
Given landfill tax currently stands at £103.70 per tonne, and companies are also required to pay the haulage costs of transporting waste to landfill, the government must consider how a more circular approach to waste management could bring cost reductions to companies.
Whilst there are good intentions to recycle more in the construction industry, circular waste management will require fiscal support and incentives for waste generators and processors, in addition to physical and legislative infrastructure, to be successful.
The MMC sector is at the forefront of improved waste management across the construction and manufacturing industries.
Short- and long-term rental building solutions are fully reconfigurable and reusable, and even permanent solutions can be stripped out and repurposed for a new use. Practices such as offsite manufacturing are naturally low-waste too.
Building components are precisely cut to size to minimise offcuts with responsibly sourced, recyclable materials, such as timber and plasterboard, forming the basis of the sector’s resource supply.
Of course, there’s always space to grow, and given its inherent sustainability, there’s an opportunity for the MMC sector to supercharge construction waste reduction in the UK. Such improvements should aim to optimise everything from production to the supply chain.
At a design and planning level, a shift to allocating specific practices to specialists would streamline the production, fit out and finish off the building.
The standardisation of modular buildings can support this too. This would ensure all building components and systems are consistent, whilst affording a leaner and more efficient manufacturing process.
There is also scope for the reuse of modular building solutions to be taken further. Applying a rental building model to semi-permanent structures could maximise opportunities for circularity significantly by enabling a greater number of buildings to be reused or repurposed.
Across the construction board, other key measures must now be taken seriously if waste management is to improve.
Companies need to exercise material efficiency, utilising resources with a lower environmental impact and less packaging where feasible, be that for fixings, insulation or paints.
Many main contractors and specialists across the construction supply chain are already striving to implement or improve waste recovery procedures so this effort must be continued, right down to what happens with offcuts or defective components.
Supply chain collaboration
Closer supply chain collaboration is also key to establishing a cohesive commitment to waste management.
From architects to waste contractors, every stakeholder must be engaged and prepared to uphold their side of the bargain for a truly circular supply chain to exist.
Internally, training and technology are textbook essentials for stepping up the business’s waste management record.
Companies should aim to educate employees and stakeholders on the importance of waste management and demonstrate what their role will be in the business’ sustainability progress.
Sharing internal and external success stories and case studies relating to waste management and reduction strategies can help to communicate these messages effectively and demonstrate their value through real-time statistics.
Tools such as building information modelling have also proved their worth in terms of limiting waste through optimised design; the industry should also begin to explore the capabilities of AI, automation and robotics to accelerate their waste reduction ambitions.
Technology is now a cornerstone of design precision and material efficiency so there is a big opportunity for businesses to see a return on investment in terms of improving their green credentials.
Waste management in the UK is still at the beginning of a long journey, but the government and the construction industry both have opportunities to make a real and lasting difference.
Collaborating with the supply chain and utilising technology will help to implement a circular economy more quickly, maximising the benefits for the industry and the environment as a whole.
