Pushing reuse

Overview

BioRegional has worked to push reuse of construction materials since initiating BedZED, the UK’s largest low carbon community. With low carbon industry high on the agenda, we have commissioned Salvo Llp, the reclamation and reuse consultancy which carried out the BigREc surveys, to write Pushing reuse. We hope that the Government will seize this opportunity to drive investment and enterprise in this neglected green market.

Key findings

Reuse is better than recycling
Reuse is the second highest priority in the UK Government’s waste hierarchy, after reduction. Reuse strategies typically lead to a greater reduction in waste to landfill, greater savings in carbon emissions, and more jobs in the construction and waste industries than recycling alone.

Reuse in construction has declined in the past 10 years
Construction materials have been reused and remanufactured in the UK since at least Roman times.But in the past decade there has been a shift away from reuse towards recycling, and latterly towards energy from waste. This was confirmed by two recent BigREc surveys, which show that 25% less material (by volume) was reclaimed in 2007 than in 1998, and that reclamation was becoming more difficult.

Policy is not driving reuse
The regulatory backdrop in the EU and UK is failing to prioritise reuse above recycling and energy from waste, despite being higher in the waste hierarchy adopted by both. By classifying reusable construction materials as waste, by conflating reuse with recycling, and by focussing on landfill diversion rather than the waste hierarchy, policy may have contributed to the decline of reuse in the past decade.

Simple policy interventions are available
A champion for reuse appointed by the Government could better drive forward its waste hierarchy;investing in reuse enterprises to kick‐start mainstream capacity would create new low‐carbon jobs;putting reuse and the embodied energy of materials at the heart of local governance and planning policy could transform practice on the local level; wider thinking about the Emissions Trading Scheme and Landfill Tax could provide sources of funding for reuse enterprise.

Download free PDF report
Pages 36

........................................................................................................
BioRegional is a registered charity – if you would like to make a donation for the PDF report please visit www.justgiving.com to do so securely on-line – suggested donation £4.00.  

Your support will help us to continue developing solutions for sustainable living.