Water Conservation at our Sites

The use of recycled water in its manufacturing process is the latest water-saving innovation now in place at Maltby Blocks Plant. The new 44 thousand litre rainwater harvesting system collects water from across the site, to be used before abstracting water from the onsite borehole, and in preference to mains water.

We estimate that the new rainwater system has saved over 785m3 of water, which is enough to fill a third of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The system was set up by the site team in early 2023, and in just a few months, it reduced water use by 20 per cent from 2020. Eliminating the use of mains water also lowers carbon emissions from our supply chain – so far, we estimate that Maltby’s rainwater system has eliminated over 200kg of CO2. The project is one of several sustainability measures implemented on the site, including waterless urinals, waste recycling recovery, and the delivery of a brand-new Kalmar electric mobile plant clamp truck.

Gareth Crosby, site manager at Maltby Blocks said; “We’ve worked hard to get this rainwater harvesting system to work seamlessly within the manufacturing process, and it’s great to know that it’s making such a difference to our water consumption.”

Arcow Quarry is also a great example of how we can reduce mains water usage on site. The site uses purified quarry water for all its domestic needs and only brings in bottled water for drinking.

This quarry water is used for dust suppression, wheel cleaning, and washing up, as well as in the toilets. To ensure its safety, the site pumps the water through a self-cleaning filter, followed by two ultraviolet filters and two paper filters, before being used by quarry personnel. Any surplus water is treated in lagoons and regularly checked, before being released into the local watercourse.

Martin Dobson‍, Arcow quarry manager, said: “When you have no access to mains water, you think seriously about the water that you use. It’s great to be able to show what is possible when treating and using quarry water instead of mains. Our settlement ponds, where all our quarry water goes before discharge, are a real haven for wildlife too.”

At Tarmac, we are aiming to reduce our water consumption by 25 per cent per tonne of product by 2030. Changes like these could significantly help reduce our mains water use, and lead to a significant reduction in our scope 3 carbon emissions.