Tarmac give back with take back

Tarmac Topblock have launched a new initiative, in partnership with waste specialists Hippowaste, to help construction companies manage on-site block waste and reduce the amount of material sent to landfill.

The ‘Take Back Scheme’ will enable sites to dispose of all broken, damaged or unused blocks in specially provided Hippobags, supplied by Hippowaste. Once 10 or more bags are full, they will be collected by Hippowaste and returned to the nearest Tarmac recycling plant, where the material will be crushed and recycled into new blocks.

The Take Back Scheme will be available to sites that place initial orders of at least 2,000 metres of Tarmac Topblock aggregate or aircrete blocks. The initiative will be rolled out nationally in coming months and will cover the complete range of including their four key brands: Topcrete, Hemelite, Durox and Toplite

The move will help companies to comply with new European landfill directives, which come into force at the end of this month. Plus, in 2008, construction projects over £250,000 will need to implement Site Waste Management Plans. The new service will help ensure compliance by offering users a complete block audit trail.

Commercial director Alistair Whitaker said: “Topblock is proud to pioneer this important innovation as an example of best practice for our industry. We hope that the scheme will demonstrate the sustainability of building with concrete, and that maximising the recovery of materials is both environmentally and economically advantageous for builders.”

Whitaker continues: “The initiative will enable our customers to achieve cost-saving benefits by not disposing of block waste as landfill, whilst ensuring that discarded block material is recovered responsibly and reused in new applications.”

The company are currently also in talks with Biffa Waste and Recycling to look at the possibility of introducing a roll-on skips option, to enable the handling of larger volumes.