Leading companies commit to halve waste to landfill
December 13, 2008
Just a few weeks after the launch of the "Construction Commitments: Halving Waste to Landfill", over 30 organisations have signed up to the Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) voluntary agreement.
They include leading clients and contractors such as Land Securities, Defence Estates and Laing O'Rourke.
Reducing construction waste is a key focus for the industry. In a recent survey undertaken by WRAP, 90% of those questioned stressed that it is still a high priority despite fears that the economic climate will stall green projects as companies become more concerned with the bottom line. Of this 90%, all believe they have the capabilities in place to implement WRAP's "Halving Waste to Landfill" commitment.
Commenting on its rationale for signing up, Barry Springgay, Construction Director at ASDA, said: "By making a concrete pledge to send zero construction waste to landfill from both our store and depot operations by the end of 2010, we're pioneering a cleaner, smarter way of working."
He said that the company was expecting to save more than £1 million a year while diverting 12,000 tonnes from landfill annually.
Over half of the companies surveyed (52%) are in fact considering setting their own individual waste reduction targets, which will exceed the collective national benchmark of halving waste to landfill by 2012. A quarter (24%) are considering project-specific requirements.
Chief Executive of WRAP Liz Goodwin said: "Waste by its very definition is a missed opportunity - the true cost of waste is over 10 times higher than the cost of disposal, once the value of the wasted materials is taken into account."
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