- Home
Landfill
2018 PLEDGE 0% Waste to Landfill
Having watched the Blue Planet 2 documentary series on TV and seeing the devastating effects that pollution is having on sea ice and marine life, we as a company could not just sit back and do nothing, we donate to the Yorkshire wildlife park foundation who in turn donate to polar bears international and they also run their own climate change campaign 18°c or below.
This we felt wasn’t enough so from 2nd January 2018 we will make sure 0% of the waste we produce goes into landfill.
All work we undertake from now on will have all materials and waste taken away as part of the price quoted, this is then sorted off site and recycled or re purposed. We as a company make this waste, so I feel we have a duty and obligation to make sure it is disposed of in a manner that doesn’t cause further damage to our already fragile environment.
Where will the waste go?
Wood: is crushed up into chips, these chips are used in wood chip flooring, kitchen doors and worktops. Smaller chips and sawdust are used to make MDF skirting’s.
Metal and cables: this type of waste is commonly recycled and re purposed into new metal products.
Rubble: this we really do produce a lot of, the material is run through screens and shaker decks to produce clean graded material that can then be used in hardcore applications such as driveways and paths.
Plasterboard: contains gypsum, this is what causes the main issues when recycling as one piece in a skip contaminates the whole skip making the other waste un-recyclable as gypsum is categorised as a harmful product. Plasterboard is separated, stored and then collected by the plasterboard companies themselves, this is then broken down back into its component parts - gypsum and paper - which is then used to make new plasterboard.
Cardboard: broken back down into paper and turned into new cardboard.
Plastics: most of the plastic waste in construction is High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) or Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE), both of which are widely recycled being chopped into grains or pellets which are melted back down and re-used to produce new plastic products.
How can you help?
Climate change is something that affects every one of us, with a few small changes in your day to day life you can lesson your impact on the environment just as we are trying to.
Here are a few examples ranging from quick fixes to more long-term lifestyle changes:
Quick lifestyle changes:
- Change your habits and attitudes towards recycling - challenge yourself to recycle just as much as you throw out to landfill.
- Change your light bulbs to LED versions that use less electric which reduces carbon emissions at power plants and reduces your electric bill.
- Lower your heating by just 2 degrees - this can save you around £27.00 a year and will lower your carbon impact.
- Reuse your carrier bags and rethink the amount of plastic bottles that you could reuse / recycle - plastics are most damaging on the environment and marine life.
- Give your unwanted clothes and shoes to charity as 220 million tonnes a year are thrown out to landfill.
Larger environmental changes:
- Consider installing solar panels and storage banks.
- When it’s time to replace your boiler, consider spending more money on a more energy efficient system.
- Consider smart heating your home which will run your heating more efficiently for when you are at home and reduce running costs when you are away from home.
- Help clean up the pollution. There will be plenty of local organisations near you that you could join and meet likeminded people, e.g. pick up 3 pieces of rubbish every time you visit a beach, and start to use biodegradable sun creams.
This is something we are exceptionally passionate about and moving forward, we will be heavily involved with this in the future so look out for posts on our social media pages, and if anyone has any other ideas please feel free to get in touch.