Embedding recycling and waste management best practice into housebuilding

Across all new build developments the average recycling figure is now consistently over 98%.

Reduced costs by up to 24 per cent for like-for-like containers.

Reduced administration and improved invoicing.

In Brief

One of our national housebuilder customers has up to 20 live housing developments at any one time. During the lifetime of a project, which can span one to 10 years, any waste being generated can be costly and difficult to manage across multiple sites.

To achieve the customer’s aim of increasing recycling rates, streamlining services and reducing site costs, they required a single supplier that could implement waste management best practice across their portfolio.

Vital Statistics

Project:

Waste management for new housing developments

Client:

Nationwide housebuilder

Sector(s):

Building, construction, property development

Services:

Container and collection services, skips, roll-on/offs, tippers, grab hire, hazardous waste, bespoke waste reporting

Location:

Nationwide

Contract value:

Approximately £1m per year

Managing multiple providers

Dealing with several waste brokers or skip companies directly at each of their sites was leading to inconsistency with pricing,
confusion around invoicing, varying customer service levels, multiple points of contact and an inability to provide accurate waste reporting.

As a business, it was difficult to report on waste reduction and recycling measures at an individual site level, so site managers weren’t able to demonstrate performance against KPIs or demonstrate environmental improvements.

“Our partnership with Opteco has helped us to improve best practice and increase recycling rates by implementing consistent on-site
waste management at each of our developments.”

‘One-stop-shop’ waste management

Ward began working with the housebuilder in 2014 to implement a ‘one-stop-shop’ waste management service. After a site visit from a dedicated account manager, each development now receives a bespoke waste management plan designed to cost-effectively manage waste and improve recycling rates.

Every waste strategy includes guidance on how to create a dedicated waste compound on-site, waste segregation signs and bespoke posters to educate people on site. A single point of contact is provided for all sites, ensuring consistency of pricing and excellent levels of customer service. It has also consolidated invoicing so each site has a clear breakdown of costs, billed regularly each month.

“A dedicated point of contact at Opteco means we can get quick responses and access help, support and guidance from a business that really understands our sector and our changing needs over the lifetime of a development project.”

Championing waste segregation

Every possible site now implements a waste segregation system. A waste compound is set up and managed by an appointed Waste Champion who arranges appropriate containers such as skips or roll-on/offs. During the construction of each phase, container requirements change to suit the waste streams being produced, Waste Champions are responsible for ensuring each one is used to its full capacity.

Recover, reuse and recycle

Common waste streams are segregated within a compound. These are mainly wood, plasterboard, hardcore and mixed general waste. There are also options for metal, cardboard or packaging if required. Effective waste segregation, particularly with wood and metal, can reduce costs in a like-for-like container by over 24 per cent. Metals even offer a rebate, providing an income stream to counter overall waste costs.

Reporting results

Reducing waste and increasing recycling were key objectives, so we worked with Development Directors to deliver bespoke, site-level waste management reporting. These now provide a single, consistent format for capturing detailed information about recovered waste streams, recycling rates and waste costs in order to analyse waste management performance to inform best practice. The team has also introduced a reward system for the best performing development each month.

Delivering results

By working with Ward to apply best practice waste strategy principles, the customer has:

Reduced costs by up to 24 per cent for like-for-like containers;

Reduced administration and improved invoicing;

Introduced bespoke site waste management reporting in a consistent format;

Rolled out a reward scheme to incentivise best practice;

Benefited from a dedicated account manager and single point of contact for all sites;

Increased sustainability at site level and company-wide.