PLANET CASE STUDY
Circular Economy
Tarmac Waste Management Specialist Report
“We want this specialist report to ignite action across the construction and demolition industries. Many suppliers, contractors, developers, and others working in the built environment are already taking great strides to recover and reuse waste, but we can do more.”
Hannah Haeffner, national recovery & recycling manager at Tarmac
In 2023, Tarmac launched a specialist report, ‘Changing mindsets on aggregate reuse and recycling in the built environment’, which details the role of digital waste tracking in enhancing the future of CD&E (Construction, Demolition and Excavation) waste management.
The introduction of a mandatory digital waste tracking system in the UK is imminent. Announced as a notion by the Environment Act 2012 to replace the existing paper-based system, the new tracking system will mark a new era for land and waste recovery.
As a result, the report recognises that waste and the reuse of resources is a key topic for the CD&E industry, detailing the necessity for improvement on the industry’s current performance. With 138 million tonnes of CD&E waste produced each year in the UK, more must be done to see waste as a valuable resource and optimise its reuse.
The aim is to digitally track every part of the waste chain, from waste producer to recycling or disposal point. While this will be a big change for everybody involved in waste management, it will also present new opportunities and challenges for the CD&E industry.
The report makes companies aware of the impact that waste management has on the environment, and shares advice on navigating upcoming changes and legal obligations.
Hannah Haeffner, national recovery & recycling manager at Tarmac, said: “The evidence shared in this report highlights both the progress already made in reuse and recycling in the built environment, and the opportunity for further improvement.
“We can’t manage what we can’t measure, and our hope is that digital waste tracking will provide more accurate, more reliable, and more up-to-date information, so we can build more informed waste strategies at a national level.
“At Tarmac, optimising our use of recovered materials and waste is an important part of Act, our Sustainability strategy, and this will play a key role in our transition to net zero.”
Sarah Poulter, Chief Executive at The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, said: “I am pleased to see Tarmac taking a lead on the subject of waste management in construction, and trust that it opens up further discussions that result in innovative medium and long-term solutions. Together, we can drive change, protect our environment and secure a sustainable future. Together, we can move the world beyond waste.”
