Earlier in the show, we showed you what waste is produced at residential building sites. Some of the wastes are being taken to sorting recovery facilities such as Instant Waste here in Bayswater, offering builders a solution to deal with their waste.
In this particular process, waste is bought to a recovery facility, goes through a screening process and sorted along a conveyor belt. Each material, such as timber, metal and cardboard is extracted using a different process, either sieves, shredders, flotation transfers or compactors. The end result is products ready to be transferred to other recycling facilities for reuse. Items such as sand and aggregate can be reused by the industry.
Mixed waste recovery facilities can now divert over 80% of construction and demolition waste.
The kinds of waste that can be reused are:
- Metal and steel made into reinforcement
- Timber off cuts recycled into compost and mulch
- Sand filtered to produce clean filled recycled sand
- Lights sent to the waste and gas industry
- A new trial to reprocess brick straps into fence posts
- Concrete and clay reused as crushed aggregate
When asked what types of items can’t be recycled, Michael Norriss, Waste Consultant for the Master Builders says, “Asbestos, paint, white goods etc. It’s very important that people are aware that dumping waste into these bins is actually illegal and contaminates all the waste, which means it could end up in landfill. We’ve found everything from toilets, beehives and washing machines being dumped in these bins.”
Smart builders are thinking green and smart, implementing better waste management strategies to reduce their waste to landfill and save a few dollars in their and their clients’, back pocket.
If you’d like to find out which Master Builders members are waste providers, you can log on to mbawa.com/ smart-waste
