May 12 2006
An Ecotrade Centre based in Peterborough which was funded by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) and developed by the UK Centre for Economic & Environmental Development (UK CEED) has been declared a roaring success.
Since its opening in October 2005, the Centre - which enables trade professionals to drop off waste arising from construction, demolition and refurbishment as well as offering lower disposal prices for pre-segregated waste - has received more than 400 visits, with 84% of users segregating their waste before disposal. The use of the facility and the feedback demonstrates that the construction industry is prepared to respond to these financial incentives made available through segregating and recycling waste to facilitate easier and quicker bulking onsite.
The facility operates in much the same way as a Household Waste Recycling Centre and collects inert waste (soil, sand, gravel, brick, block, concrete, ceramics tiles and roof tiles), green waste or landscaping and gardening waste, all metals, timber and pallets, wiring and cables, cardboard, paper, plastic packaging, re-usable items such as pallets, sinks, windows etc and mixed waste. This diverts waste from small-medium sized trades, waste carriers and small scale construction & demolition businesses that tend to carry their own waste and captures quantities which are traditionally too small to warrant skips.
The need to divert a larger quantity away from landfill for re-use and recycling and to raise awareness in construction & demolition companies and, in turn, promote change in practices and procedures was identified by the UK Centre for Economic & Environmental Development (UK CEED). As a result, WRAP awarded funding through its Regional Market Development Fund (RMDF) to UK CEED and Singh UK, a waste management company, to pilot the Ecotrade Waste Recycling and Research Centre in Peterborough.
A builder operating in Peterborough, said: “I personally think that it is a very good idea and is brilliant for small businesses, as it helps us to separate waste onsite and we are charged lower disposal prices for doing so. The Centre is very efficient and simple. It will definitely be successful as small businesses haven’t got too many options for waste disposal and recycling”.
Mervyn Jones, Construction Programme Manager at WRAP, said:“Small businesses comprise the majority of businesses within the construction sector. Their influence on construction waste arisings is very significant at regional level and so pilot schemes like the UK CEED Ecotrade centre provide a simple but important solution for getting them to separate their wastes for onward recycling".
The Centre is located in Peterborough which has seen an increase in the levels of construction and demolition waste production as a result of the growth in housing development and the inclusion of Peterborough in the London, Stanstead, Cambridge, Peterborough Growth Area.