To celebrate ‘Plastic Free July’, Insulation Express has uncovered five ways the construction industry can lessen its plastic consumption on a day-to-day basis.
Why does construction need to lessen its plastic consumption?
- The industry accounts for almost a quarter (23%) of TOTAL the plastic consumed in the UK.
- Every year, 40% of constructions plastic is sent to landfill. Amounting to 20,000 tonnes – this plastic waste weighs the same amount of two Eiffel Towers.
- Whilst the durability of plastic is useful, it’s also part of its demise – it can take up to 1000 years to decompose. And whilst it degrades, it contaminates our soil and oceans with the release of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases.
- Reducing your plastic waste can be a financial benefit, too. One contractor, Risby Homes saved £13,000 on a 25-home development project – simply by reducing, reusing and recycling their plastic waste.
Five ways the UK construction sector can reduce its plastic waste
Did you know that 95% of construction professionals admit that the industry needs to reduce its plastic use? With this in mind, Insulation Express has uncovered the ways in which this can be achieved on a daily basis.
- When ordering products, try and order them in bulk or in larger packs. Not only will this cut the volume of packaging per item, but it will also reduce the need for multiple polypropylene bags.
- Did you know that a huge proportion of packaging thrown away can be reused? Try talking to your supplier to see if they can reduce their packaging or take back the packaging to recycle yourself.
- Use reusable plastic boxes to place and protect materials during construction – then return the boxes to the supplier.
- For the plastic packaging that can’t be recycled, send it to a licensed waste management contractor. They can decide on the plastics most sustainable destination.
- Keep all large sheets of plastic sheeting that arrives as packaging for your building products. These can be used on site as weather protection when it rains or snows.
