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Recycling Service

How The Newton Recycling Service Sets New Standards for Sustainability in Construction

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Sustainability is becoming an increasingly pressing matter within the construction industry. With rising concerns over carbon emissions, energy consumption and the depletion of natural resources, construction companies must implement sustainable practices in order to reduce our environmental impact.

Through pioneering recycling initiatives, eco-friendly product developments, and a commitment to environmental protection, we are proud to be setting new standards for sustainability in structural waterproofing.

The Newton Recycling Service: A Game Changer for the Industry

In 2017, we pioneered the first closed-loop waste management and recycling service in the UK waterproofing industry. Now having recycled over 26 tonnes of material, the initiative addresses the problem of the waste that is generated from waterproofing membranes and product packaging, providing a practical, eco-friendly solution for contractors and construction companies.

How Does Newton’s Recycling Service Work?

The process of installing waterproofing products inevitably generates off-cuts, unusable packaging and waste materials. However, rather than allowing these to contribute to landfill waste, our recycling service ensures that they are collected, reprocessed and recycled. The service operates by:

Collection of Waste Materials

Thanks to our own fleet of delivery vehicles, Newton’s specialist drivers collect membrane off-cuts and empty packaging from our nationwide network of Newton Specialist Basement Contractors (NSBCs). These collections coincide with deliveries of new product, thereby reducing the need for separate journeys and minimising carbon emissions.

Sorting and Recycling

The collected materials are returned to our headquarters, where they are processed and prepared for recycling.

Reintegration into the Industry

The prepared materials are sent to a third-party plastics reprocessor, where they are manufactured into new construction products and reintroduced into the supply chain. In doing so, we are contributing to the use of recycled and renewable materials in future building projects.

The Environmental and Commercial Benefits for Contractors

Participating in Newton’s sustainable construction initiative offers numerous benefits to contractors and construction companies:

  • Reduction of waste disposal costs – Contractors can lower expenses related to waste disposal, improving their bottom line.
  • Minimised carbon footprint – By recycling waterproofing membranes, contractors help lower the gross annual carbon emissions associated with their construction projects.
  • Enhanced corporate social responsibility – Demonstrating a commitment to sustainability in construction aligns contractors with global and UK environmental regulations, which is increasingly important to stakeholders.
  • Compliance with Green Building Standards – The initiative contributes to green certifications such as BREEAM, helping to create sustainable buildings that meet the Future Homes Standard.

Newton’s Commitment to Sustainable Product Development

Beyond recycling, we are dedicated to producing sustainable building materials that reduce energy consumption and promote resource efficiency. This is evident in our latest Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for the HydroBond 402 and HydroBond 403 external waterproofing membranes.

What Makes These Products More Sustainable?

Newton’s EPD-certified products further contribute to the reduction of the environmental impact of waterproofing systems by:

  • Minimising fossil fuel usage during production
  • Extending material lifespans
  • Reducing amount of waste, and
  • Promoting energy efficiency

Overall, these EPD certified products ensure less energy consumption while supporting sustainable building materials and responsible use of resources.

The Impact of Newton’s Recycling Service on the Built Environment

Since its launch, our waste management programme has made a positive impact on green construction. Some of the key outcomes include:

  • Reduction in landfill waste, ensuring less energy is used in waste disposal.
  • Significant carbon footprint reductions, as the recycling initiative limits unnecessary material production.
  • Greater use of sustainable materials, incorporating renewable materials into new building projects.
  • Improved quality, as more environmentally responsible materials contribute to healthier and more sustainable buildings.

The Essential Role of Sustainability in Construction

As the UK government continues to push for sustainable development, construction companies play an essential role in fostering sustainable construction methods. By integrating sustainable practices such as recycling and EPD-certified construction materials, we are helping to shape a construction sector that is willing to change its approach to environmental sustainability and long-term performance.

Newton Wins Again at the National Building & Construction Awards

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Newton Wins Again at the National Building & Construction Awards

Newton Waterproofing is proud to have been named a winner in this year’s celebrated National Building and Construction Awards, in recognition of our commitment to sustainability.

Launched in 2019, the awards aim to raise the profile of industrious and enterprising building and construction businesses across the country, recognising excellence in the field.

Taking gold in the ‘Green/Sustainability’ category, which focuses on sustainable projects and their impact on the environment, Newton has been recognised for our extremely successful Recycling Service.

Winning gold in the Green/Sustainability category in 2022 marks the second National Building and Construction Award that Newton has received, and is the 6th construction industry accolade that the multi-award winning Recycling Service has received.

What Is The Newton Recycling Service? 

The Newton Recycling Service is the first closed-loop recycling scheme in the UK waterproofing industry. Run in collaboration between Newton and our Specialist Basement Contractors, the scheme actively collects and recycles off-cuts of HDPE waterproofing membrane and the plastic tubs and metal containers that hold our liquid waterproofing products from across the UK, for re-use in the construction industry.

How does the Recycling Service work?

Since 2017, the Recycling Service has evolved into a streamlined and efficient process – from Newton’s warehouse, waterproofing products such as HDPE cavity drain membranes are delivered to our specialist contractors across the UK, who then install them and collect all of the off-cuts and waste in dedicated Newton bags.

Whilst making deliveries of new products to its specialist contractors, Newton collects the full bags of recycling and returns them to the Newton head office on the backload, thereby avoiding creating additional emissions.

Thanks to an investment in an industrial granulator, plastics are then processed in-house according to the type of material, and stored in our warehouse in bulk bags.

Once a large quantity of processed material has been accumulated, the bulk bags are collected by one of the UK’s largest plastic recyclers, who transform all of it into new raw materials, ready for the next stage in its lifecycle.

What Has The Newton Recycling Service Achieved?

According to our fifth annual Sustainability Report, Newton recycled 2.608 tonnes of membrane in 2021 by collecting 126 bags of waste membrane offcuts and used containers. This avoided the production of 2.99 tonnes of carbon dioxide – the equivalent to over 11,712 kilowatt hours of energy.

Overall, since 2017, Newton has prevented 22.67 tonnes of HDPE membrane from going to landfill.

To translate this into more quantifiable figures, 22.67 tonnes of recycled HDPE equates to:

  • Preventing 26.05 tonnes of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere
  • Saving 101,833 Kilowatt Hours of energy
  • Energy which is worth a total of £14,633
  • Which is enough energy to make over 3.62 million mugs of tea

Newton Waterproofing’s Managing Director Warren Muschialli comments: “It’s an honour to have been named a winner in the National Building and Construction Awards. We’re incredibly proud of our Recycling Service, and for it to be recognised by the judges must mean we’re doing something right.

“We look forward to developing our sustainability targets further in 2023, and are committed to helping shape the UK’s green agenda and providing sustainable construction by helping combat the industry’s waste problems.”

Recycled Product Range 

Newton Waterproofing is completely committed to continually finding ways to reduce our impact on the environment. Whilst the Recycling Service is the hero of our efforts, we also look to improve in every aspect of the company, including our recycled product range.

Working closely with our suppliers, we have added three waterproofing products to our range that are manufactured using recycled plastic, without any negative effect on their durability, longevity or performance.

For more information about Newton Waterproofing’s Recycling Service, call 01732 360 095 or email info@newtonwaterproofing.co.uk.