WRAP Publishes Step-by-Step Guide to Road Recycling

Developed predominantly for local authority personnel, the guide outlines a model approach to procurement which allows requirements for re-used and recycled materials to be embedded in all highways contracts.

The model identifies three key phases of the procurement process where local authorities can encourage the increased use of recycled materials. These are: the pre-planning phase, where strategic objectives and procurement policy are defined; the planning phase, where tender specifications are agreed; and the construction phase itself.

For each phase, the guide identifies key decision points and provides detailed information on practical steps which can be taken to drive the use of recycled content. Each of the steps is also illustrated with in-depth case studies of how the suggested actions have driven change in real contracts.

“The financial and environmental benefits of maximising the use of recycled materials are well established”, says Phil Wilson, WRAP’s Aggregates Project Manager. “For local authorities, recycling and efficient use of materials are increasingly important in meeting sustainability and Best Value objectives.

“The aim is to provide senior officers, highways budget-holders, procurement officers and highways engineers within local authorities, as well as their consultants and contractors, with practical advice on how to use the procurement process to maximise the use of recycled material in highways contracts.”

Surveys of attendees at WRAP’s first series of Recycled Roads workshops in early 2005 found that, while around half of all local authorities allow the use of recycled materials in highways projects, only about 10% of them actually set requirements that actively encourage contractors to maximise their use and seek associated cost savings.

Having identified the potential for many authorities to drive change through the procurement process, WRAP developed the Recycled Roads guide to procurement to help ensure that re-use and recycling of materials are key criteria in all highways work.

The guide is endorsed by ten key sector organisations and was first made available during WRAP’s second series of nationwide Recycled Roads workshops which demonstrated the financial and environmental benefits of the use of recycled materials in highway and street maintenance. These events took place during February and March this year and were attended by over 300 delegates.

Copies of the guide can be obtained from http://www.aggregain.org.uk/procurement/how_to_procure/recycled_roads/index.html  or www.wrap.org.uk/procurement

Notes to editors:

1. WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a major UK programme established to promote resource efficiency. Its particular focus is on creating stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products and removing the barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.
2. A not-for-profit company, WRAP is backed by substantial Government funding from Defra and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
3. WRAP is currently running fifteen programmes. Twelve of them relate to market development, comprising nine material streams (Paper, Plastics, Glass, Wood, Organics, Aggregates, Tyres, Batteries and Plasterboard) and three generic areas (Business & Finance, Procurement, and Regional Market Development). Three further programmes relate to the wider resource efficiency remit - Collections, Communications and Awareness, and Waste Minimisation.
4. The WRAP Aggregates Programme in England has been funded since 2002 by Defra through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund. The Aggregates Levy was set up by the Government to reduce impact on the environment from the extraction of aggregates such as crushed rock, sand and gravel used in construction. The WRAP work, which is being funded for a further three years from 2004, has the aim of reducing demand for primary aggregates by encouraging greater use of recycled and secondary aggregates. Some of the revenues from the Levy are also channelled back to communities affected by aggregates extraction through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund in England and the Sustainable Action Fund in Scotland.
5. WRAP has set a target for its Aggregates Programme to increase the production capacity for recycled and secondary aggregates by up to 3 million tonnes a year by March 2006. In support of this, a further target for the Aggregates Programme is to promote and facilitate the specification of recycled and secondary aggregates to the point at which 20% of local authorities are specifying these materials in street maintenance contracts by 2006.
6. Recycled aggregates can be produced by reprocessing materials - such as concrete, brick, asphalt, unbound sub-bases - previously used in construction. Secondary aggregates are typically by-products of other industrial processes not previously used in construction, such as china clay waste, foundry sand, glass, tyres, and plastic.
7. WRAP’s AggRegain service (www.AggRegain.org.uk) provides comprehensive information and guidance on all aspects of the production, specification, procurement and use of recycled and secondary aggregates.
8. More information on all of WRAP’s programmes can be found at www.wrap.org.uk
9. The Recycled Roads toolkit is endorsed by the following organisations:
   
   - County Surveyors Society
   
   - Institute of Highways and Transportation
   
   - Local Government Association
   
   - Public Private Partnership Programme
   
   - Constructing Excellence - Local Government Task Force
   
   - Institute of Highway Incorporated Engineers
   
   - Institute of Civil Engineers
   
   - Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland
   
   - Welsh Local Government Association
   
   - The Association of Public Service Excellence

For further information contact: