Push for new homes to boost waste management industry

With the new government pushing for the delivery of 300,000 new homes a year, and greater emphasis on environmental protection, leaders in the waste management industry are expecting an increase in demand for their services from housebuilders.

Changes to the planning regime, notably the drive for development on brownfield and greyfield, have already led to an increase in enquiries for one major Kent company, Countrystyle Recycling.

Martin Heathcote, Chief Executive Officer of Countrystyle Recycling, said: “Our teams already serve many housebuilding sites across the region, offering extensive waste management services. Many brownfield sites contain derelict buildings that require demolition, followed by the compliant removal of waste material from the site before housebuilding can get under way.

“The other big driver of growth is coming from local authorities, which continue to own large and diverse property portfolios and are looking to repurpose now redundant buildings and sites either themselves or by selling them off. The demolition and removal of the waste can play an important role in bringing these sites quickly to market.”

A recent project saw Countrystyle Recycling appointed as the principal contractor by Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration champion, to undertake the clearance of demolition waste at Buckland Mill in Dover.

The Countrystyle team was tasked with removing 3,861 tonnes of mixed demolition waste within 25 days to allow construction to make it ready for a further 135 new homes on the 2.3-hectare site of the former paper mill.

As part of the project, Countrystyle was able to call upon the expertise of its colleagues in FGS Industrial Facilities Management and FGS Plant Hire, all part of Heathcote Holdings. The result was a coordinated programme of waste and asbestos disposal, dust suppression, plus soil sampling, and management of the site.

Martin Heathcote continued: “Importantly, we completed the project in just 13 days, nearly half of the original 25 days earmarked, and came in significantly under budget which was great news for the client, and the taxpayer.

“This project demonstrates how we were able to provide an integrated waste management service for the benefit of our client and help speed up the delivery of new homes and development.

“From an environmental perspective, we were able to successfully divert 100% of the avoidable waste from landfill.”

Countrystyle put its plant and operators to work on moving incidental construction waste through permitted wash plants which clean the waste and create sands, gravels and certified aggregate made from hardstone. These materials were then repurposed to be reused back into industry.

The remaining waste streams were diverted through picking lines to extract plastics, textiles, and other combustible materials which were baled into refuse derived fuel (RDF) for delivery to an energy-from-waste plant.

Operating in line with the Waste Framework Directive Guidance gave peace of mind to the client and local authority Dover District Council.