Waste Management Strategies – What SMEs Can Learn from BAM, Galliford Try and McAlpine About Reducing the Cost of Waste

Discover what your company can learn from the waste management strategies of leading UK construction companies

Waste management strategies have hit the headlines recently, with multinationals such as Ford, Nike and Mars announcing that their aggressive waste management solutions are beginning to have an impressive effect.
But these efficiencies aren’t limited to the automotive, fashion and food industries. UK companies in the construction sector are also taking strides towards reducing waste across their processes. And with cleaner, greener strategies come efficient working methods and less cash flow pressure.
In this blog post, we take a closer look at three companies – BAM, Galliford Try and McAlpine – to see how their UK waste management strategies can be applied to your construction business.
BAM & A Waste Management Strategy Takes Time
When you generate $33bn annually, you can afford to implement a sweeping waste management strategy. But for the rest of us, change takes time and long-term planning.
BAM’s long term strategy can be scaled and applied to SMEs. By analysing the amount of materials which their construction projects waste, and examining why building materials were being sent to landfill, BAM have managed to halve the amount of construction waste they produce.
In 2006, BAM created 212m³ of waste per every £1m they turned over. By 2015, that figure had dropped to 118m³.
This hasn’t just saved landfill space. The company has directly saved more than £10m since they integrated waste management solutions into their construction processes – £10m that can now be spent growing their business.
Galliford Try & Sustainability Starts with Supply
For UK construction companies, waste management needs to begin with the supply chain. When Galliford Try audited the way they built homes, they realised that huge amounts of waste could be eliminated by educating people and organisations across their supply chain.
Construction companies pay double for waste. First, they pay to purchase the materials, then they pay to ship the unused or unusable waste to landfill. The solution is clear. By engaging with their supply chain partnerships and educating suppliers on how best to transport and store materials, Galliford Try began to steadily reduce timber waste.
As of 2015, only 9% of building timber was being wasted.
Sir Robert McAlpine & Waste Management Doesn’t Just Save the Environment
When companies release information on their waste management strategies in the UK and beyond, they focus on how green they are, the lessening of their environmental impact, and their commitment to government carbon reduction standards.
This overlooks one key effect that waste management solutions will have on your construction business.
It will save you money.
During the development of retail premises in Leeds, McAlpine installed an on-site recycling system which took care of tonnes of concrete waste. It saved 1,300 lorry journeys and 14 tonnes of CO2.
And it saved the company £91,000.
By focusing on the potential savings to their business’ bottom line, McAlpine was able to find solutions which saved them transport time, cut down on the landfill space required and saved thousands of pounds on a single project.
Waste management strategies aren’t just a way of meeting UK government targets and saving the environment.
By following the examples set by BAM, Galliford Try and Sir Robert McAlpine, you can implement a long term strategy that will reduce waste, lower supply costs and save significant amounts of money on every single project you undertake.
Start making significant waste efficiencies for your construction company. Download: The Ultimate Waste Management Toolkit for the Construction Manager