Construction & Demolition Waste to Landfill in NZ
50% of all landfill waste in NZ is Construction & Demolition related
The environmental and social footprint of an organisation extends far beyond its own boundaries. Indirect, scope 3, emissions across an organisation’s supply chains can contribute anything from 80 to 90 percent of their total GHG emissions.
By including elements of sustainability in procurement practices, the principal interface with its supply chain, is an effective and direct way of affecting positive change with regards to its social and environmental footprint. For organisations in New Zealand, it is a visible way of embracing the principles of Manaakitanga (the showing of respect, generosity and care for others) and Kaitiakitanga (the guardianship and protection of the environment).
Addressing the issue of waste is a great example of benefiting from the proverbial “low hanging fruit”. For example, by including a simple requirement on contractors to limit the amount of waste generated by a project i.e. the kg of waste per unit area of building floor plan, can prompt the contractor to consider its own procurement strategies and implement waste reduction initiatives such as safely storing materials on site to avoid damage by weather or handling, or by diverting waste from landfills to recycling centres.
For instance, a housing project typically produces a significant amount of timber and Gib board waste and thus should be required to recycle 100% of this waste. Gib board is able to be recycled into paper and gypsum, a valuable product used in agriculture and horticulture and timber off-cuts can be recycled into wood chip for use as biofuel. Likewise, waste reinforced concrete is readily recycled into aggregate for resale back to the community whilst reinforcing bar is on sold to metal recyclers. In industrial and infrastructure projects, asphalt can also be recycled into bitumen and aggregate for reuse in pavement projects.
Together, these examples of waste reduction initiatives, all initiated by simply addressing sustainability early in the procurement cycle, can help reduce an organisations environmental impact and project life cycle carbon inventories.
Contact us to enquire about how we can assist you in getting your business ready for carbon emission reduction: