New ground with waste neutral
We're breaking new ground on a junction improvement scheme at Heacham in Norfolk by taking the 'waste neutral' approach to maximise re-use opportunities.
Waste neutral is a concept promoted by WRAP to reduce costs and increase profits through greater efficiency. WRAP works in partnership to encourage and enable businesses and consumers to be more efficient in their use of materials and recycle more things more often.
" Results are positive with the waste neutral figure firmly in the green' "
Riaan Kruger, May Gurney |
The Heacham project uses the ECI process to combine four schemes - drainage, safety and two surfacing schemes - to maximise re-use and minimise disruption while reducing the construction programme to 15 weeks.
The work is being carried out under the Norfolk Strategic Partnership (NSP) between Norfolk County Council, Mott MacDonald and ourselves.
Waste neutral is a system to monitor waste on site by calculating the value of construction materials wasted, balanced by the value of additional re-used and recycled materials. The result gives a waste neutral figure in terms of value. By focusing on monetary value rather than tonnage, the system clearly identifies cost savings.
Riaan Kruger, Agent, explains: "We carry out a weekly on site calculation of types and quantities of materials that have been re-used or wasted. These figures are then put into our waste neutral monitor, which allows us to see where our waste neutral figure stands.
"Currently at Heacham, results are positive with the waste neutral figure firmly in the green.
"It's a very simple, straight forward and user friendly way of gaining instant feedback on project efficiency. It also enables us to identify everything that has the potential for re-use."
The NSP accounts for more than 80,000 tonnes of waste per year, which is about the same amount as an aircraft carrier weighs. This pilot project aims to push the bar for project delivery even higher - to turn innovation into best practice, and best practice into common practice.
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