At PiLON, environmental sustainability is at the core of our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) plans. While refurbishing social housing to enhance the safety and wellbeing of residents, this inevitably generates waste.

Guided by our ISO14001 Environmental Management System, Head of SHEQ Compliance Sid Clark develops bespoke Site Waste Management Plans for each project, identifying the waste that will be generated, how it will be minimised, and how it will be sustainably disposed of.

We caught up with Sid and SHEQ Assistant Diana to follow the trail of waste from the residents’ homes to its final destination.

The Challenge of Construction Waste

Our clients, including Local Authorities and Housing Associations, manage extensive estates requiring ongoing modernisation and re-fitting. Kitchen and bathroom refurbishments are among the most common projects, that generate significant waste such as the old sinks, toilets, baths, cabinets, taps, and electrical wiring.

Innovative Waste Management Solutions

At home, most of us are used to either adding mixed recycling into a dedicated wheelie bin or separating different types of materials into individual bins. However, for larger projects, separating waste streams can be challenging due to space constraints in residential areas and the need for skips. That’s why we partner with dedicated construction waste recycling centres, like Powerday, who collect and sort the waste at their dedicated sites on the outskirts of London. These centres utilise advanced laser automation technology to sift and sort waste into recyclable or reusable streams.

We recently visited one of their sites near Willesden in London which processes approximately 200,000 tonnes of waste annually. Here’s what we observed:

• Sorting Process: Once delivered, the waste is placed on conveyor belts where magnets, rollers, and industrial-sized sieves sort it by material, weight, and size.
• Recycling and Reuse: Metals, cardboard, wood, and rigid plastics are compressed and baled for recycling. Hardcore materials like tiles and bricks are crushed for reuse as aggregate.
• Energy Recovery: Remaining materials, often soft plastics and contaminated items, are used for energy production, supporting facilities such as a paper factory in Germany who use the waste for energy to keep their paper mills running.

This is the circular economy in action – genuine waste products that are the by product of improving lives are being recycled and reused. The small amount that can’t be efficiently sorted into contaminate-free streams (wood without metal, metal without plastic etc) becomes waste for energy, either at a regional incinerator or a local business that operates its own off-grid system.

Lessons Learned

Soft plastic contamination poses a significant challenge to efficient recycling. These materials can adhere to other waste streams, complicating the sorting process. Although unsorted materials can currently be burned for energy, the goal is to phase out soft plastics to improve the recycling success of all other materials.

As a recent example of reducing waste, our Procurement team has opted to purchase mini residual current circuit breakers (RCBOs) without packaging. This initiative not only supports our commitment to minimising waste but also brings about a cost-saving of 5% that we can pass on to our Clients.

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Our Commitment to Sustainability

By partnering with recycling centres, manufacturers and major distributors and adopting best practices, PiLON successfully recycle over 97% of our waste, ensuring that waste from our projects is managed responsibly. This commitment not only supports environmental sustainability but also aligns with our clients’ goals of reducing their ecological impact.

Join Us in Making a Difference

We invite you to learn more about our sustainability initiatives by contacting info@pilon.co.uk to explore how we can work together to promote environmental stewardship in the social housing sector.