New waste management, prevention and recycling targets for the Welsh construction and demolition (C&D) sector have been announced.

John Griffiths, the Environment Minister for Wales, launched the Construction and Demolition sector plan, for the industry on Friday (23 November), to help it deliver Wales’s ambitious recycling targets and become more sustainable.

The targets have been redressed in order to reduce the environmental impacts the construction industry has on Wales, as it is currently reported to account for 14 per cent of Wales’ overall ecological footprint.

According to the new document, the sector should now aim to send 50 per cent of C&D waste for reuse by 2020 and increase the amount of non-hazardous C&D sent for recycling and reuse by five per cent (90 per cent total) in the same period. The plan also outlines that the industry should aim to cut 1.4 per cent of waste arising annually until 2050.

Aside from new targets, the plan also suggests ways in which those involved in the industry – including builders, trades people and suppliers – can improve their waste management practices to gain more environmentally friendly and affordable results. These include ‘encouraging behaviour change’ through sign up to the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Development Charter, encouraging clients, designers and contractors to plan to ‘prevent, minimise and recycle waste on C&D projects’ through the introduction of mandatory Site Waste Management Plans, and increasing awareness about ‘designing out waste’.

Unveiling the plan at Llanwern High School in Newport, which won a series of Constructing Excellence in Wales awards for waste prevention in June this year, Environment Minister, John Griffiths said: “As well as being an integral contributor to the Welsh economy, the construction industry is a large consumer of natural resources, producing 12.2 million tonnes of waste each year in the Wales alone.

“Taking action to reduce the environmental impact of the construction sector is critical as our current level of waste is totally unsustainable. We have an obligation to ensure that we use our resources wisely.

“The ultimate aim is to turn high-quality recycled waste into a valuable resource that does not cause environmental harm, rather than it ending up in landfill. The plan I’ve launched today asks Wales’s construction industry to look at how it can waste less and recycle more. It also offers financial benefits for construction and demolition companies – something that is very important in these tough times.”

The Construction and Demolition Sector Plan specifically targets the construction and demolition industry as part of Wales’s ‘Towards Zero Waste’ national programme, which aims to achieve a 27 per cent reduction in waste by 2025 and zero waste to landfill by 2050.

Read more about the Construction and Demolition Sector Plan.