Construction waste

The construction industry currently accounts for 17% of total waste produced in the UK.  It is not known how much of this waste is produced by refurbishment, but there is no doubt that refurbishment offers opportunities to re-use, recycle and employ recycled materials.   Choose either "site" waste or "household" waste options from the options on the left.

Household recycling

Reducing the amount of waste coming from households can ease the pressure on landfill sites and means fewer resources are used in the production of goods.  This can take the form of reducing the amount of waste produced in the first place or recycling waste that is generated from construction or refurbishment work.  The UK has one of the worst records for recycling within the EU, with rates of just 11% compared with Austria's 64%, but this is improving slowly. Recycling paper, magazines, glass, cans and certain types of plastics is possible through schemes organised by local councils.  

Housing associations (and local authorities) have a role in raising awareness of the issues of waste management and refurbishing homes that support recycling.  Waste management should be encouraged at all levels, including composting and using recycled water.  This could be done by supplying residents with composting bins or water butts. Click "household" on the left for more details.