Why Recycle Waterproofing Membrane?
One of the primary forms of below-ground structural waterproofing, cavity drainage membranes are manufactured from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and are designed to last for the lifetime of the building in which they are installed.
However each year the UK waterproofing industry sends hundreds of tonnes of membrane off-cuts to landfill, as there was previously no service available for collecting and recycling the material.
With the environmental credentials of many new projects coming under increased scrutiny by assessments such as BREEAM, the ability for any company to utilise a recycling service that allows them to trace their waste is a valuable asset when undergoing sustainability assessments.
Finally, the importance of the environment in construction will only increase – as Stuart Foster, CEO of not-for-profit recycling charity RECOUP states, “Environmental issues are increasingly in the spotlight. The plastic and construction industries are under more pressure than ever before to do the right thing in terms of the environment.”
How Does It Work?
Available through Newton’s network of Specialist Contractors (NSBCs), the service collects the waste membrane on delivery backloads from its network of specialist contractors across Great Britain and Ireland, and processes it at Newton’s Kent headquarters. Returning it in this way also ensures that no extra emissions are released in the process of collecting the membrane. From Newton, it is recycled by a third-party and manufactured into new construction products, therefore achieving a fully ‘closed-loop’ recycling process.
Most important however, is that the entire Newton Membrane Recycling Service is transparent and traceable. It is therefore possible to track where all waste material is generated and produce reports for participating companies, from contractors to specifiers, on how much they are recycling and how much energy they are saving.
What Have Been The Results?
As a result of Newton’s significant efforts to improve their environmental impact and ensure the sustainability of their operations, in 2017 a total of 3.255 tonnes of membrane was collected for recycling.
Whilst 3.255 tonnes sounds like a lot, what does it actually mean? To help translate this rather obscure amount into real terms, it is possible to convert 3.255 tonnes of HDPE into several more quantifiable measurements:
• By recycling this quantity of HDPE plastic, Newton have avoided the release of 3.74 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent (CO2e) into the atmosphere, which would have been created in the manufacturing of new, virgin HDPE • To create the same quantity of emissions by burning fuel would require 1,702 litres (1.24 metric tonnes) of petrol • Both of these quantities can be equated to the generation of 14,616 Kilowatt Hours (kWh) of energy • Finally, at an average of 0.028 kWh per cup, this amount of energy would therefore be enough to make 519,690 cups of tea!
Finally, and perhaps more importantly than the above figures, it is also hoped that innovative new schemes such as these will act as motivation for other construction industry suppliers to start considering their own processes and the ways in which they too can improve their environmental credentials.
Get Involved
To get a list of NSBCs who can provide the recycling service on your project, contact Newton directly for a list of companies in the area.
“When we’re looking to deliver a building we’re trying to make it as sustainable and energy efficient as we possibly can. If you’ve got two products that are comparable and if one of them has got a recycling scheme like the Newton scheme, then obviously it’s a bit of a no-brainer.”
Matthew Edwards, Associate Director, HGP Architects
