Builder aims to help UK construction industry kick its plastic habit
Neal Maxwell wants trade to go from 50,000 tonnes of plastic waste each year to zero by 2040 A builder from Merseyside has launched...
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in partnership with
in partnership with
Changing Streams CIC has been appointed as a Business Champion on the Construction sector’s CO2nstruct Zero Industry-Change programme. Business Champions have committed to targeted carbon reduction and helping others from across the wider sector achieve this.
CO2nstruct Zero brings together organisations that are demonstrating leadership in relation to carbon reduction, sharing their good practice with others from across the UK construction sector, and providing a set of metrics that enables the sector, quarterly, to collectively measure its progress to Net Zero.
Neal Maxwell, Founder of Changing Streams CIC, commented: “I am delighted that Changing Streams has been appointed in the first round of CO2nstruct Zero business champions for 2022.
“We set up Changing Streams in 2019 to change the construction industry’s reliance on plastic, in terms of the materials that form our buildings and the plastic waste created in their fabrication. We believe that this is a crucial part of the overall journey to Net-Zero.
“The construction industry is the second largest user of plastic and contributor to the generation of plastic waste in the UK and the world. Most plastics are produced from fossil fuels. At present, less than 15% is recycled; ultimate disposal (even if recycled in the meantime) involves pyrolysis or incineration with the concomitant release of carbon dioxide noxious chemicals into the atmosphere. Therefore, reducing dependence on plastics must be a key part of the overall journey to NetZero.
“We are already embarking on several ground-breaking projects that will shape the future of construction.
“An ambitious 5-year programme of work in partnership with Your Housing Group and the University of Liverpool is a world-first in the move towards carbon zero, plastic-free and fuel-efficient homes. We firmly believe that this project will lead to a fundamental change in housing design and construction.
“With Peel L&P, Changing Streams is undertaking a significant pioneering research project at Wirral Waters – one of the UK’s most significant regeneration projects with a consented Masterplan of 20 million sq. ft. Bringing together Peel L&P’s construction partners with researchers from the University of Liverpool, Changing Streams will identify areas where sustainable plastic-free alternatives can be used in the building sector.
“Changing Streams is also developing tools to measure the ‘plastic footprint’ of materials and components used in construction, whether in packaging or the building components themselves. Source, manufacturing process and recyclability (the fate of materials at the end of life) all contribute to this equation. As a result, they are an integral part of the carbon footprint of any building or construction process.
“At one of the most pivotal moments in the future of our world, we have the chance to drive the changes that the construction sector needs. We are inviting forward-thinking companies to join us on the journey towards net-zero, to shape the future and be the change you want to be.”
