Richard Simpson, co-founder of the Brighton & Hove Wood Recycling Project, faces a daily challenge of trying to convince foremen on building sites to separate the waste produced throughout the building process. Simpson is a former architect who certainly knows his way around a building site. Since the inception of the BHWRP in 1998, the organisation has recycled about 6,000 tonnes of timber.
The initiative to promote construction waste recycling was one of the first in the UK to collect waste wood from building sites so that it could be recycled or reused. Although the company had humble beginnings, Simpson and his partner have turned the scheme into positive model for community recycling programmes.
“To building firms we were just a bunch of hippies,” Simpson said to the Guardian. “But we were the first in the country to go to commercial building sites. The trick is to win over the foreman.”
The success of the programme may have even exceeded the wildest dreams of the BHWRP. To date, organisation co-founder, Richard Mehmed, has assisted in the establishment of 21 wood recycling projects in East London, Cambridge, Manchester, Glasgow, and Llandudno.
The vision of the BHWRP is certainly well focused considering the amount of waste produced by construction sites. While the householders seem to be the target of much of the current legislation, it has been shown that residents are only responsible for 9% of the UK’s annual waste collection. The construction industry on the other hand, produces approximately 32% of the country’s waste.
For more information, go to: woodrecycling.org.uk
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