Case study: University of the West of Scotland, Ayr Campus

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Key facts

� The new campus was designed to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’.

� 96% of the 1,200 tonnes of waste produced was diverted from landfill.

� An estimated 984 vehicle movements were avoided, giving a carbon reduction of 2.5 tonnes.

BackgroundThe UWS Ayr Campus, which was opened in August 2011, provides 18,000m2 of accommodation for students of UWS and the Scottish Agricultural College. Shared facilities include general teaching areas, a refectory, gym, library, lecture theatre, drama studio and computer laboratories.

Lend Lease, a founding signatory to the UK Halving Waste to Landfill (HWTL) Commitment, which is managed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and delivered in Scotland by WRAP’s Scottish programme, Zero Waste Scotland, was

Waste management contractor Recycling and Data Services Limited was appointed to provide an innovative waste management service during the construction of the University of the West of Scotland’s (UWS) new Ayr Campus. The approach provided the principal contractor, international property and infrastructure group Lend Lease, with greater confidence in the project’s waste data. The project demonstrated the benefits of a waste contractor taking full control of waste and pursuing opportunities for re-use and recovery.

Innovative waste management approach achieves exemplary recovery rates

University of Ayr Campus, opened 2011.

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appointed as the principal contractor. As part of its HWTL commitment, Lend Lease has stringent waste targets for all its projects. Achieving quality data that can be used with confidence from waste management contractors is a key component in evaluating the performance of projects against targets. At the Ayr Campus, waste management contractor Recycling and Data Services Limited was appointed by Lend Lease because it offered an innovative waste management approach supported by robust data.

Recycling and Data Services Limited was appointed at the end of the concrete frame stage of works. It provided trained operatives to sort the waste on site, pursue every opportunity for re-use and recycling and collect weighbridge tickets from reprocessors.

Innovative modelRecycling and Data Services Limited’ model maximises the recovery of materials at a competitive cost.

Under this model, all waste is initially placed in mixed-waste skips on the site at the point of waste production, with the exception of waste produced by bricklayers and drywall contractors, which is placed in clearly marked skips. The skips are then taken by Recycling and Data Services Limited to a designated area of hard standing on site for sorting, compacting and baling by trained operatives.

Bulk skips are used to reduce the frequency of vehicle movements.

A designated area for waste management is created using existing areas of hard standing or sub-base, or mobile concrete plinths or steel plates, to establish a waste management area where operatives can process waste. These mobile platforms are re-usable and give Recycling and Data Services Limited the flexibility to reposition the waste-sorting area around the site if required. This model allows for the waste hierarchy to be implemented and actively work to increase the amount of material being re-used and recycled and decrease the amount of material going to energy recovery or landfill.

Re-use: all materials that can be re-used are made available to the site before alternative re-use options are considered. Recycling and Data Services Limited commonly engages with local social enterprises and charity organisations that collect materials for re-use. These are then sold from their licensed facilities to local building companies at discounted prices.

Manufacturer take-back: wherever possible, off-cuts and damaged materials are returned via manufacturer take-back schemes for reprocessing.

Recycle: waste that cannot be re-used or returned to the manufacturer is sent to reprocessors for recycling wherever possible. Balers are used on site where appropriate to compact the waste and subsequently reduce the frequency of waste uplifts and vehicle movements.

Energy from waste: this option is considered only after all available re-use and recycling options have been pursued.

Case studyInnovative waste management approach achieves exemplary recovery rates

The Waste HierarchyPreferred Environmentally-friendly Option

Reduce

Re-use

Recycle

Energy Recovery

DisposalLeast Environmentally-friendly Option

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Waste transfer station: the remaining mixed waste that cannot be re-used, recycled or used to produce energy from waste recovery processes is sent to a licensed waste transfer

station for further recovery where possible, with the aim of minimising the eventual amount of waste sent to landfill.

Case studyInnovative waste management approach achieves exemplary recovery rates

“The service provided by Recycling and Data Services Limited and the landfill diversion rates achieved on the Ayr project demonstrate that by partnering effectively with our supply chain we can have a positive environmental impact in a cost-effective way.

”Gemma BourneEnvironmental Operations ManagerLend Lease

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“We were extremely happy with our achievements at Ayr Campus, and we’re determined to continue improving and expanding our service. Our approach to waste management provides a business opportunity for us, while at the same time saving our clients money. It’s all about taking control of waste and seeing it as a resource as opposed to a waste. It’s a win–win situation.

”Michael OwensRecycling and Data Services Limited Director

Case studyInnovative waste management approach achieves exemplary recovery rates

This approach provides the following benefits:

• Cost-effectiveness – it reduces the principal contractor’s administrative burden by providing a fully managed waste management service. The Recycling and Data Services Limited trained operatives are incentivised to sort and segregate the materials to a higher quality standard than can usually be achieved by construction site operatives. The principal contractor no longer needs to employ someone to manage the waste area, which allows site operatives to spend time on other tasks.

• Auditable data trail – the waste data provided are fully auditable and provide confidence that site-specific recovery targets have been achieved. With a conventional approach, waste recovery data usually relate to the waste transfer station’s overall performance, and specific waste quantities are difficult to measure from mixed-waste skips.

• High recovery rates – it achieves recovery rates in the region of 90–95%. This is substantially higher than most traditional waste management options and higher quantities of waste are re-used. Re-use is the least carbon-intensive waste management option, and therefore maximising re-use both on and off site reduces the overall carbon impact of a project.

• Reduction in vehicle movements – it removes full loads of compacted and uncontaminated material in bulk containers. Machinery, including compactors and balers, is used on site, reducing the ‘void space’ typically found in conventional skips. This results in fewer waste uplifts, creates a safer and tidier site and reduces the carbon emissions of the project.

• Identification of poor site practices – the principal contractor is made aware of any instances where unused or unopened materials and supplies are discarded. This gives the contractor more information about waste to discuss with suppliers and improve site training. This material is returned either to the principal contractor or directly to the relevant subcontractor, at no charge, to prevent unnecessary disposal costs.

• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) – it provides a means for local enterprises and charity organisations to get involved in construction projects. Often these organisations cannot offer a full waste management service, but they can re-use or process particular waste streams. This provides benefits to local economies and communities, and demonstrates CSR.

Lend Lease reports that using this approach did not cost more than the conventional approach. For the Ayr project it assisted with:

• meeting project waste targets;

• achieving BREEAM and Considerate Constructors credits relating to waste management; and

• understanding better the activities that cause wastage.

Project performanceA total of 87% of the waste produced on site was either sent directly to reprocessors in bulk skips or re-used on or off site. Less than

13% of waste produced on site was sent to a waste transfer station for further processing, and therefore less than 4% of waste was actually sent to landfill (Table 1).

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Re-usable materials were used on site or uplifted by a charity organisation, Yooz. Yooz was set up to raise funds by the charity Active4All by reclaiming, recycling and re-using building materials. Materials that were returned to the site or sent for re-use off site included pallets, grout, plywood, insulation, bricks and blocks, steel fixings, scaffolding and scaffold clips. A submersible pump and a theodolite (surveyor’s device), together worth an estimated £4,000, were found to have been accidentally skipped and were returned to their owners.

Recycling and Data Services Limited also provided data on carbon savings from a reduced number of vehicle movements (Table 2). Segregating on site and taking full skips directly to recycling facilities reduces the number of vehicle movements. Based on an

Table 1 Waste produced at Ayr Campus

Number of containers Tonnes

% of total waste

Wood 74 206 17Inert 52 356 29Metals 64 137 11Packaging 33 29 2Plasterboard 41 298 25Plastic 1 1 0.1Green waste 2 2 0.2Sweepings 19 12 <1Raised flooring 1 12 1General waste including canteen wastea 83 148 12Re-useable materials 2 5 2

Total 372 1,206 100

a Sent to waste transfer station.

Case studyInnovative waste management approach achieves exemplary recovery rates

Table 2 Carbon savings

Estimated number of vehicle movements from traditional skip hirea methods 1,464

Actual number of vehicle movements on and off site 480

Journeys saved 984

Estimated CO2 saved (kg, based on distance to closest transfer station)b 2,500

a Based on the number of mixed-waste skips produced and tipped in Recycling and Data Services Limited’ sorting area.

b Fuel conversion factor × distance travelled (km) × litre fuel per kilometre

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Case studyInnovative waste management approach achieves exemplary recovery rates

estimate of the number of journeys that would have been required if all mixed-waste skips had been taken directly to a waste transfer station, Recycling and Data Services Limited calculated that 984 vehicle journeys had been saved at Ayr Campus. The carbon savings were calculated based on the distance to the nearest waste transfer station.

Waste dataThe Ayr Campus project provided all parties with an opportunity to understand how data collection should adapt to enable an ongoing understanding of waste production and recovery. Recycling and Data Services Limited has since developed monthly reports that can be used to inform the principal contractor and the client about:

• the effectiveness of site practices and subcontractors;

• the achievability of recovery rate targets; and

• acceptable wastage rates for specific materials.

Reliable waste data allow the principal contractor to gain an understanding of the waste profile and the causes of waste, and address this through site waste management procedures and asking the supply chain to improve performance.

Lessons learnedThe waste management approach at Ayr Campus was considered a resounding success. It demonstrated the potential benefits of one contractor taking full control of waste management on site. Since the Ayr Campus project, Recycling and Data Services Limited has improved the efficiency of on site processes and the speed and accuracy of data collection. The proportion of waste sent to waste transfer stations is now less than 10% for most sites.

The Recycling and Data Services Limited team is actively working to introduce further improvements to the service, including the following:

• expanding its network of contacts in the re-use and reprocessing sectors;

• reducing the requirements for concrete lay-down by making the platform portable;

• improving site signage using the Zero Waste Scotland Skip Signage Creator Tool;1

• improving communication with the principal contractor about re-use items available; and

• developing the business model for use on smaller-scale sites and infrastructure projects.

1 http://zwspostercreator.org.uk