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NBS WRAP

We have just finished an exercise dealing with recycled content of products across NBS Building and its sisters. NBS Technical author Michele Lucarelli gives some useful background information.

In 2004, 335 million tonnes (Mt) of waste was produced in the UK. 32% was generated by the construction industry, with a further 29% generated from mining and quarrying [www.defra.gov.uk].

But the situation is not all doom and gloom (optimism is vital): following reuse or recycling, approximately 60 Mt is left to manage. Of this, 40 Mt is hazardous and bound for landfill, or destined for exempt sites, or used as 'landfill engineering', forming the cells into which the waste is tipped. It is the remaining 20 Mt 'pure' construction waste that government wants to see halved by 2012, and reduced to zero by 2020 [Government's draft Strategy for sustainable construction (2007), England waste strategy (2007)]. It sounds quite simple.

WRAP

The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), established in 2000 as a not-for-profit organization, is working with the construction industry to facilitate these reductions. Backed by government funding, WRAP looks to voluntary measures which organizations, businesses and individuals can implement to reduce waste, recover materials and tackle climate change. This support is delivered through seven targeted programmes, with construction being a key area of focus.

In the construction arena, WRAP concentrates on three principal aspects:

Reducing the amount of construction waste produced in the first place, by promoting waste minimization techniques, highlighting good practice in waste management, free support for Site Waste Management Plans, etc.
Using the resources in the waste stream to promote the re-use of that material back into the construction industry, by influencing clients and specifiers to increase their use of construction products containing recycled content.
Increasing the UK's capability to recover waste by providing expertise, advice and funding to business to further the ability to manage various materials and waste streams, and to develop the markets which would drive the demand for those materials.

As part of its work in promoting increased recycled content usage, WRAP has investigated the recycled content levels of various mainstream construction products and materials. Research was originally commissioned with BRE and the Construction Products Association, and is now ongoing with a variety of relevant partners. The resulting publication, Choosing construction products (February 2008), aims to identify readily available alternatives to conventional specification selections which would increase the value of recycled materials used in a project. Values have been compiled in a table that gives percentage recycled content by mass for a range of 'generic' products and materials. All values are defined according to the WRAP report Calculating and declaring recycled content in construction products, which uses four criteria to define recycled content:

Compliance with ISO 14021, the international standard on environmental labels and declarations.
Listing of the material in the European Waste Catalogue.
The material is process scrap that requires a recovery operation before re-use.
The material is a 'by-product' as defined by the EC's Interpretative Communication on waste and by-products 2007.

ISO 14021 dictates that the recycled content is given by mass and that the reuse of materials arising out of a manufacturing process and capable of being reincorporated in the product is excluded.

The table, Recycled content found in building products and materials, contains BRE figures for products such as metals, roof tiling, aggregates, concrete, floor coverings and board materials. For some materials there is only one value given – e.g. reinforcing steel: 100%, zinc: 31%, hardboard: 60% – as these are considered to be industry constants, i.e. these products are only available with this level of recycled content. For most other entries, recycled content values for the products generally fall into 'Standard', 'Good' and 'Best' categories.

'Standard' represents a baseline of the recycled content normally found in a product if no request for recycled content is made. 'Good' represents a higher-than-standard value which might be achieved and available at a cost-neutral level when compared to standard practice. 'Best' represents the highest value currently available, but which may incur additional cost. As with any product selection process, there are other considerations to be taken into account, such as availability and transport distances, but a recent BRE report (The environmental impact of higher recycled content in construction projects) states that in 90% of cases, higher recycled content means a net reduction of damaging environmental impacts.

The table can also be used to identify 'quick wins' recommended when using WRAP's Recycled Content Toolkit, accessible via their website.

Recycled content in NBS

NBS is keen to help specifiers who need to hit targets for recycled content. Clients such as regional development agencies, housing associations and health trusts are setting project level targets, requiring a minimum of at least 10% recycled content by value ('value' is a metric used to increase the market drive for lighter, less dense materials such as insulation or PVC-U window frames, which would otherwise be overlooked if just a 'mass' value was used).

To allow generic specification of recycled content, NBS Building, Engineering Services and Landscape now incorporate 'Standard', 'Good' and 'Best' percentages as value inserts within relevant clauses. Specifiers can select a recycled content percentage to ISO 14021 as a drop in, or insert their own value. Virgin materials (if available) can still be specified where established performance or insurances might be critical. With this in mind certain materials have been omitted to date, such as cast in-situ concrete applications, and most aggregates (see Note). Also, where a material can only be supplied with a given recycled content, as noted above, then no recycled content item is given as this value cannot be varied.

For proprietary specification of mainstream products with recycled content, WRAP's online Construction products guide can be used. This is populated with manufacturers' products organized into product type lists, which differentiate between those claims which are ISO 14021 compliant and accredited, and those which are not. Responsibility for the veracity of claims lies with the individual manufacturer (the Trade Descriptions Act and the Sale of Goods Act should be used to protect against misleading claims). Not all products with recycled content are listed at the moment, as it is up to individual manufacturers to approach WRAP to have their products included.

To allow direct access to this proprietary information, NBS Building, Engineering Services and Landscape include links to the product type lists via clause guidance, with specifiers able to check for products and insert manufacturer and product references into the specification. Hopefully, simplicity itself.

Thanks to Mark Collinson at WRAP for his comments on this article and assistance with the project.

Note:

WRAP's AggRegain programme can be used for recycled and secondary aggregate (RSA) specification via www.aggregain.org.uk. Management tools offer help to:

identify opportunities for use of waste products according to project type and materials groupings;
specify RSA in appropriate applications (includes technical notes and case studies);
find suppliers; and
provide guidance on planning systems, quality management, waste management regulations, procurement, and sustainability.