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Circular economy

Reclamation of Site Material for Sustainable Furniture

This contractor has partnered with social enterprise Prima Materia to turn phased demolition into a circular design programme. During works high-quality timber, metal, stone and glass are salvaged that would otherwise be downcycled or landfilled. Prima Materia’s ex-RCA designers reimagine these materials into a collection of circular furniture for London Design Festival 2025. This reframes demolition from a waste-handling task…


Recycled FabBRICK Panelling

This contractor used FabBRICK which transforms recycled textiles into sustainable wall panels that combine design with performance. Each panel is made from shredded fabrics bonded with an eco-friendly, bio-sourced glue, resulting in a durable and unique material that has natural variations in colour and texture. FabBRICK wall panelling aids with acoustics, provides thermal insulation, and is fire-resistant, while helping to…


Sustainable Plasterboard used with Carbon Low Metal

This project is the first to use Gyproc SoundBloc Infinae© 100 12.5mm with Gypframe® Carbon Low metal profiles. The Gyproc board sets a new benchmark for sustainable construction, providing the industry with the first UK manufactured plasterboard as it is made 100% from it’s own recycled waste. Globally, gypsum board waste is a significant issue, with estimates suggesting over a…


Creating Concrete Blocks from Recycled Aggregate

In a further effort to reduce their carbon footprint, this contractor is using the inert materials they collect from demolition sites to produce their own concrete ‘lego’ blocks for their yards. The goal is to increase capacity and improve the efficiency of their material segregation areas so that they have more space to process materials from their sites. The process…


Solar Panel Recycling

This contractor is working with Solar Recycling Solutions as they have committed to recycling 100% of their waste panels. Recycling of solar panels has been limited, up till this organisation successfully developed methods to extract all of the streams from the panels, sending zero to landfill and selling the streams onwards to be manufactured into other products. All of the…


Reused Raised Access Flooring

This contractor has procured ten floors worth of refurbished raised access floor panels that will be install on the new building project. This material would historically have been skipped or recycled to produce a new flooring tile. The contractor and client would normally then procure brand new raised access flooring tiles. The raised access flooring has dramatically reduced their carbon…


Circular Packaging Solution

Collaborating with one of their suppliers, this contractor has developed a solution to the packaging waste being produced on construction projects. Ecopak is a modular system comprising inner and outer polypropylene packaging that can be reused multiple times, allowing for the packaging of mixed types of lighting product and comes with GPS tagging so products can be tracked digitally following…


Carbon Dioxide Absorbing Recycled Aggregate

On this project the contractor began sending concrete demolition waste to London Concrete in 2023 from the marine deck demolition and since the pile cropping’s. The concrete is processed and crushed into aggregate to be used as 20% replacement in new concrete mixes being bought back to site. Taking this one step further they are also using Neustark’s new cutting…


3G Pitch Shock Pad Upcycling

Initially this contractor was required to uplift the existing 3G pitch and shock pad and this material was due to be transported to landfill. Because this had to be taken to a certain landfill site they enquired about alternative means of disposal/reuse, receiving very little feedback on alternatives. They worked with the supply chain and approached clients with a proposal….


Recycled Foam Based Cold Lay Tarmac

This contractor is using a process to reuse coal tarmac from existing roads for new road infrastructure. This method involves treating the old tarmac and converting it into cold-lay tarmac, which is a first on the council’s roads. This approach not only reduces waste disposal costs and reliance on virgin materials but also lowers carbon emissions due to its energy-efficient…


Polypipe Recycling Scheme

This contractor is collecting offcuts of plastic pipe and ensuring these are sent off to be recycled by the manufacturer rather than going into skips, reducing the amount of site waste that ends up in landfill. The scheme means Polypipe Building Services drivers will drop off dedicated empty collapsible pallets to merchants they supply which can be filled with PVC…


Excess Concrete Collection Vessels

Most excess concrete is disposed of in standard waste skips, lined with plastic sheeting. This contractor has developed vessels for collecting concrete that are tailor made for this and will not require using plastic sheeting, which is a waste product in itself. The vessels are also designed to prevent overfilling, which is an industry issue that affects the collection of…


Circular Glazing Scheme

During the removal and disposal of the single glazed windows, this contractor sent the windows to a manufacturing facility to reprocess the glazing into a worktop which was then installed in the fit out of the project. They managed to provide the manufacturer with a total of 360 windows (3,500kg of glass), of which they have incorporated 1,500kg back into…


Zero Plastic to Landfill Certified Project

This contractor became an engaged member of the Responsible Plastic Management (RPM) Program to support targets of the contractor’s 2030 Sustainability Roadmap. They identified that this project was a perfect location to attempt to achieve the exemplar status of having a construction project that was sending zero plastic to landfill. In order to achieve this they engaged intensively with their…


Upcycling Event Banners for the Workforce

This contractor worked with Calluna Upcycling to recycle their stand from an exhibition they presented at. This was converted into handy pencil/make-up cases and distributed for the workforce, reducing waste to landfill whilst providing a gift for the workforce. Calluna create flexible work for people who for a variety of reasons need it – all of their workers struggle with…


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