Tarmac launch waste-management specialist report
New report explores impact of waste-management on the environment and shares advice on upcoming changes
TARMAC have launched a specialist report – ‘Changing mindsets on aggregate reuse and recycling in the built environment’ – which details the role of digital waste tracking in improving the future of CD&E (construction, demolition, and excavation) waste-management.
The introduction of a mandatory digital waste tracking system in the UK is said to be imminent. Announced as a notion by the Environment Act 2012 to replace the existing paper-based system, the new tracking system will mark a new era for land and waste recovery.
Tarmac’s latest report recognizes that waste and the reuse of resources is a key topic for the CD&E industry, and it goes into detail about the necessity for improvement on the industry’s current performance. With 138 million tonnes of CD&E waste produced each year in the UK, more must be done to see waste as a valuable resource and, thereby, optimize its use.
The aim is to digitally track every part of the waste chain, from waste producer to recycling to disposal point. While this will be a major change for everybody involved in waste management, say Tarmac, it will also present new opportunities and challenges for the CD&E industry.
The new report makes companies aware of the impact that waste management has on the environment, and shares advice on navigating upcoming changes and legal obligations. Hannah Haeffner, national recovery and recycling manager at Tarmac, said: ‘The evidence shared in this report highlights both the progress already made in reuse and recycling in the built environment, and the opportunity for further improvement.
‘We want this specialist report to ignite action across the construction and demolition industries. Many suppliers, contractors, developers, and others working in the built environment are already taking great strides to recover and reuse waste, but we can do more.
‘We can’t manage what we can’t measure, and our hope is that digital waste tracking will provide more accurate, more reliable, and more up-to-date information, so we can build more informed waste strategies at national level. At Tarmac, optimizing our use of recovered materials and wastes is an important part of our sustainability strategy – Act – which has a key role in our transition to net zero.’
Sarah Poulter, chief executive of Chartered Institute of Wastes Management (CIWM), added: ‘I am pleased to see Tarmac taking a lead on waste-management in construction, and trust that it opens up further discussions that result in innovative medium- and long-term solutions. Together, we can drive change, protect our environment, and secure a sustainable future. Together, we can move the world beyond waste.’
The new Tarmac report ‘Changing mindsets on aggregate reuse and recycling in the built environment’ can be viewed and downloaded on the Tarmac website.
