B U S I N E SS N H .O R G . N Z
P R O F E SS I O N A L D E V E LO P M E N T: WAST E M A N AG E M E N T
Leading the way! Waste Management’s Green Star solutions for the construction industry Waste Management has become the first waste company in Aotearoa to meet the New Zealand Green Building Council’s Green Star construction and demolition waste reporting criteria. AWARDED A COMPLIANCE Verification Summary, Waste Management has proven it can support the building and construction industry towards meeting Green Star standards by maximising their resource recovery and minimising waste throughout New Zealand. General manager of customer, strategy & sustainability Ingrid Cronin Knight says New Zealand’s building boom currently contributes 40 to 50 per cent of all waste. “New Zealand can do much better. Our services make it possible for more than 70 per cent of building and construction waste to be recycled. We have solutions for every kind of construction project, small or large-scale, and we can now provide the certified waste reporting to achieve Green Star requirements.” The New Zealand Green Building Council runs Green Star and Homestar, two tools that rate and communicate the sustainability of New Zealand’s buildings. Covering both commercial and residential builds, these ratings systems strongly encourage the sustainable management of waste. “Last year, we told the construction and demolition waste sector that change was coming. After consulting the industry, we added the Waste Reporting Criteria to Green Star, setting in place a
Timber and metal are among the building materials that can be recovered and reused.
third-party audit process to ensure waste contractors and processing facilities are doing what they say they are,” NZGBC chief executive Andrew Eagles says. “By successfully completing this process, Waste Management is providing greater assurance to the wider industry and is helping develop further transparency around our sector’s waste.” And huge gains can be made in resource recovery within the industry
“New Zealand can do much better. Our services make it possible for more than 70 per cent of building and construction waste to be recycled.” because much of the demolition and construction waste thrown out can be diverted to other uses. For example, timber, metals, plasterboard, concrete, bricks, asphalt, clean soils, cardboard, polystyrene, and green waste can all be recovered and transformed into a range of products, including mulch, aggregates, fertiliser, and compost.
Sorting construction waste for better recycling is more straightforward than many might think. Waste Management delivers a variety of bins, so teams working on-site can separate materials easily. Waste Management then efficiently maximises material recovery and supplies the reporting necessary for Green Star and Homestar accreditation. Ingrid Cronin Knight says while the sustainable solution is more expensive than throwing everything away as general waste, it is increasingly favoured by leaders in the building and construction industry. “We all have a responsibility to make better choices. A circular future is the only future that will ensure we make the very best use of our precious resources, minimise waste and reduce our impact on the environment.”
To take your construction business’ sustainability strategy to the next level, go to wastemanagement.co.nz/for-builders
Case study: Waste Management’s Auckland HQ
When Waste Management’s new Auckland HQ was built in 2019, the company used best practice methods, including waste separation on-site, to ensure 99.5 per cent of demolition waste and 76 per cent of construction waste could be recycled or reused. “It’s one of the reasons our new HQ has achieved a 5 Green Star rating (indicating New Zealand excellence) and gives our sustainability team a reallife example of how effective building & construction resource recovery solutions can be.” 29
