The construction industry creates a massive amount of waste and it’s important to remember this in order to find sustainable solutions.
Morecambe Metals provide a factory clearance service that can help you to get rid of unwanted items, but by reducing the amount of waste created in the first place, you’ll have a lot less to dispose of later down the line.
How exactly can you reduce this amount and create a more sustainable construction site?
Why You Should Reduce Waste
Tonnes of waste are produced every year in job sites across the country and the world. In fact, just in 2016, the UK was responsible for the production of 66.2 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste, with 60.2 million tonnes recovered.
While it’s good news that waste is being recovered, it’s also important to take into account that it has to be recycled or disposed of correctly. This way, it’s easier to avoid a lot of waste in landfill and/or a large amount of unused building materials.
Use Sustainable Materials and Practices
As a scrap metal recycling company, we understand very well how investing in eco-friendlier materials and following greener practices can help to reduce this waste.
Designing and building with sustainability in mind means choosing the right materials from sustainable sources, understanding the best ways to store the material on site to prevent it from getting damaged by weather or stolen, and taking special care when designing, so that you end up with a lower amount of off-cut waste.
Additionally, you want to avoid over-ordering as well, since this is wasteful, and you might end up with a lot of unused materials. You won’t have to dispose of items that you don’t buy in the first place.
These are only some examples, as the list of sustainable practices is extensive.
Plan Ahead
A building project requires a lot of planning and, during this stage, you should make sure that materials are measured and ordered correctly. This will help you to create less waste, as a big part of construction waste comes from inefficient buying.
You should check your stock regularly to stay on top of your materials; this way, you avoid ordering more than you need. And, while it’s crucial to be cost-efficient on construction projects when possible, you shouldn’t order in bulk if you don’t need to.
Reuse and recycle bins can be great options on site, as people can recycle materials as they work. It may be worth it to have a clean-up task at the end of the day to foster greener practices and keep the site clear of waste.
Reuse Items in Good Condition
Sustainable materials are better for the environment and can also cut down the amount of waste produced in the future – and reusing materials is just as important.
If materials can be reused instead of thrown away, you can reduce your carbon footprint; for instance, metal roof sheets can be used again in a different project. The same is true of bricks, paints and plasterboards, not to mention surplus sand.
Keeping in mind materials that are still in good condition and can be reused without losing quality will ensure a more sustainable project site and create less waste.
If you have no need for certain materials but they can’t be recycled, consider giving them away. Many charities can benefit from donated materials, from doors to fixtures.
Don’t Jump Straight into Demolition
If there is already an existing structure or building in place, you should first verify whether it’s possible to deconstruct it before demolishing everything. You can salvage materials by doing this, which help you to cut back on the waste generated on site. You may even save money, as you can take advantage of existing materials and won’t have to order new ones.
Demolition also releases a lot of dust and harmful particles (which can get into the soil and water as well), so it’s better to remove as much as possible from a building before destroying it. This also means there will be fewer materials in landfill.
Recycle What You Can
Recycling ensures that materials can be transformed into useful items instead of ending up in landfill. Metals, for instance, are hugely recyclable. As part of our services, Morecambe Metals offer ferrous metal recycling and non-ferrous metal recycling to our clients, and the result is that fewer metals are wasted.
They can be used to create aluminium cans for the food and beverage industry, or they can be used to create the chassis of a new car, for example. Recycling leads to endless possibilities and reduces the need to source and process raw materials, which isn’t good for the planet.
Cutting back the amount of waste created during the construction process should be a priority and, once the job is done, everything else should be disposed of in a sustainable way. We provide a scrap metal collection service that helps our customers to dispose of their scrap metal, so get in touch with us today.