Each year in the UK, millions of tonnes of waste is produced. In 2016 for example, the UK generated 222.9 million tonnes of waste. One of the major contributors to this high volume of waste is the construction industry.
But wherever there is construction, there is bound to be waste. It is an unavoidable effect of the building process. From trees and soil that gets removed in the preparation of foundations to the man-made items such as bathtubs, cabinets and the rubble from demolished buildings, construction sites produce a large amount of waste. In the UK, construction activities produce millions of tonnes of waste annually. In 2017, for instance, the UK’s construction industry produced just over 136 million tonnes of waste, making up more than half of all the waste produced by the country. And of course the recent boom in construction means that even more is being produced. The projected uplift in new build productiom is expected to trigger an even greater increase. As we contemplate these tonnes of construction waste we will of course wonder “where does it all go?”
Where Does the Recycling Go?
Project managers and building companies that aim to minimise their negative impacts on the environment try to recycle their waste as best as possible. Recycling depends largely on the type of material produced. Plastic waste for example can be recycled. Packaging, insulation, window frames, pipework and interior fittings are among the plastic waste items associated with construction sites. Much of the UK’s plastic waste, including those generated by construction, sites is recycled. But where exactly does this recycling take place?
The UK, like many other countries, outsources their recycling. They send waste overseas to be sorted and processed for recycling. China, with its advanced recycling technology and recycling villages, used to be the UK’s major partner in this. But in recent years, they have drastically reduced the volume of plastic waste they accept from the UK. As a result, the UK has turned to other countries such as Malaysia Indonesia, Turkey and Poland.
In addition to plastic, the metal, concrete and wood waste produced on construction sites can also be recycled. It is of course best practice to sort recyclable items in containers through skip hire services to facilitate easy transition to recycling plants.
According to a 2013 University of Salford study, about 13% of the material that arrives at construction sites in the UK travels to dumps without being used. Vested parties are now exploring ways of minimised this waste by routing this excess unused material to other projects.
Where Do Unrecycled and Unrecyclable Waste Go?
Unfortunately, not all recyclable waste gets recycled. But what happens to waste that cannot be recycled? The truth is, a lot of it ends up in landfills. About 23% of all UK’s waste ends up in the country’s landfills. The UK has over 500 landfill sites. But environmentalists worry are they insufficient to contain all of the UKs unrecycled or unrecyclable waste. The problem is further compounded by the fact that many of these recyclable materials take hundreds or thousands of years to break down.
Then there are the non-recyclable items that leave construction sites as waste. Unfortunately, the majority of this also goes to landfills. In addition to being compressed and contained in landfills, the UK’s waste also gets incinerated at sites such as those located at Dudley, Wolverhampton and Stoke. The energy produced by this incineration is converted into electricity. Of course incineration also has harmful effects on the environment since it causes air pollution.
Where Does Hazardous Construction Waste Go?
Another type of waste generated by construction site is hazardous waste. Some examples of hazardous waste produced by construction sites include asbestos, solvents, pesticides and equipment like fridges that contain ozone-depleting substances. When hazardous waste ends up in landfills, the earth suffers pollution, which sometimes finds its way into the underground and above ground water sources. This of course, can be harmful to both human and wildlife alike.
Hazardous waste is sometimes produced by construction activities. This type of waste cannot be recycled and must be disposed of carefully. Poor containment and disposal practices can lead to hazardous waste contaminating soil, water or other natural resources. This often happens when hazardous waste finds its way in to landfills or in recycling. This type of contamination can harm wildlife species as well as human beings.
In the UK, hazardous waste that gets appropriately separated and stored for disposal, is managed in several ways. The most popular one is incineration. The waste is placed in special enclosed areas such as rotary kilns, fluidised incinerators and multiple-hearth furnaces with extremely high temperatures, which burn through solid, liquid or slush waste. Other methods of treatment for hazardous waste include solidification (for non-solid waste), biological treatment and physical treatments. All of these processes take place at specialized biohazard treatment plants.
The Obligations of Property Owners and Site Managers
Ultimately, you, the property owner and the site contractor are responsible for the appropriate storage and disposal of the waste produced on your construction site. In fact, you are required by law to keep your construction site in good order. Additionally, contractors are required to plan for waste storage and disposal.
All waste materials on the construction site need to be stored safely before their removal from the site. It is therefore important that you provide adequate facilities such as waste skips and bins. These can be sourced from companies such as Enviro Skip Hire. Consideration must also be given to where the skips can be placed and how often they will be collected.