Build Out Waste Seminar
In April this year speakers from across the construction industry gathered to share their ideas, initiatives and achievements at Unitec Institute of Technology hosted by the ‘’ Sustainable Business Network.
Here are some of the highlights.
Mitre 10 (New Zealand) Limited – Julie Roberts
“We recognise we are part of the problem especially around packaging with 97% of customers saying no to plastic packaging. Additional to this we have launched a sustainable packaging initiative with suppliers with packaging guidelines.”
Naylor Love, Annie Day
Annie said they are trialing waste separation bins on their sites and using posters to send a consistent message to their teams. 80% of plastic from sites is dirty and are keen to hear from anyone with some ideas on how to tackle this. Annie put a call out to #architects to consider changing specifications to reduce plastic use in construction.
Unitec– ESRC Project – Terri-Anne Berry
Environmental Solutions Research Centre talked about which type of plastic was the largest source of waste on construction sites. Email [email protected] to join the initiative.
Kainga Ora – Rachel Trinder
A new role has been created for Rachel and she now leads the ‘Waste Minimisation and Site Clearance’ team
The term ‘demolition’ is no longer used and has been replaced by ‘site clearance’. All Kainga Ora documents have been updated to reflect this.
They are aiming for 80% diversion from landfill for all Auckland projects with other regions to follow. 7% on average for homes to be relocated.
Mikael Backhurst, CRL asked about whether the target of 80% was contracted to providers. Rachel replied “yes however there are no penalties for not achieving it. Kainga Ora has the right to audit but we are approaching this in good faith.
Rachel added that Francesca Lipscombe, General Manager of The New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust is progressing with providing C & D waste labelling that will greatly assist on sites to separate and categorise materials efficiently.”
Looking to create a ‘diversified contractor panel’ are calling on interested providers within house-moving, deconstruction, demolition contractors to ensure positive and enduring outcomes. If you are contractors wanting to be part of the initiative, you can apply via RFI at Tenderlink, but we need to be aware of key infrastructure and capacity constraints.
Deconstruction pilots exceeded expectations with the Martin Ave (Mt Albert) project by Greenway achieving 85% and Highbury Triangle by Trow Group hitting 90%.
The Highbury project took 8956 man hours with 44 workers on site, providing employment over the two week period. The cost was comparable to a straight demolition. Trow Group also ran a pop up market in conjunction to on sell salvaged materials and promoted local Maori and Pacifica businesses.
