The South East’s 33,000 construction firms could be throwing away as much as 20 per cent of their building materials completely unused every year and generating three times as much waste as householders in the area, says government-funded programme Envirowise.1
And now MORI research, commissioned by Envirowise, has highlighted the full scale of this problem - with just 18 per cent of UK construction firms surveyed saying that waste minimisation was very important to them. As many as 86 per cent said they did not see the environment as an important issue at all.2
With a total of 13 million tonnes of unused building materials discarded nationally as waste every year3 - which could equate to 5.4 billion bricks and enough to build 490,000 houses4 - this represents a huge cost to the environment, construction firms and consumers themselves.
To help South East firms tackle this issue, Envirowise has launched a new service designed specifically to help construction firms to cut down on waste. Firms signing up to the Firm Foundations initiative will be eligible for a free, confidential on-site waste review, advice on developing and implementing a Site Waste Management Plan and free access to a waste minimisation Advice Line and a range of guides.
Envirowise regional manager for the South East, Katie Plummer, said: “It is clear that there are huge savings to be made in the construction sector, both financial and environmental. This is particularly relevant at the moment, as the high price of oil is threatening to increase the cost of basic materials like bricks.
“Our aim is to work with construction firms in the South East to help them see the benefit of improved resource efficiency, so that they can start to make savings immediately. Ultimately, this would be good news for builders, house buyers and the environment.”
[Please note that the Firm Foundations campaign has now concluded. Check with the construction sector pages for future campaigns, or register with Envirowise to receive our newsletter and communications about future campaigns.]
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Notes to Editors:
1) Figures sourced from the Office of National Statistics and the DTI (www.dti.gov.uk/construction/sustain/fb.pdf)
2) MORI research (see below)
3) DTI
4) Any Questions Answered (www.aqa.issuebits.com)
Issued on behalf of Envirowise by Harrison Cowley
Media Contacts: Kate Sturley or Rod Dennis at Harrison Cowley on 0117 929 2311
Fifty-nine small and medium sized construction firms (with between 10 and 250 employees) were polled. Interviews were conducted between 23 May – 3 June 2005 by MORI Telephone Services (MTS). Telephone interviews were conducted using Computer Aided Telephone Interviewing (CATI).
About Envirowise
Envirowise delivers a valuable programme of confidential advice to UK businesses. This advice enables businesses to improve profitability and reduce environmental impact.
Independent, practical and proven guidance is available through the Envirowise Advice Line, information resources and on site visits (Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales only) delivered by a national team of expert advisors. Each solution is driven by the specific needs of individual firms to genuinely improve their business practices, profitability and competitiveness. Since 1994, Envirowise has helped UK industry save over £1 billion.
The Envirowise programme is available to any UK business, completely free of charge.
For more information visit www.envirowise.gov.uk or call 0800 585 794.