A new material reuse platform has been launched by the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products to share knowledge and increase awareness of the significant environmental, financial and social benefits of material reuse in the construction industry.
The platform is running as part of the DISRUPT II (Delivering Innovative Steel ReUse ProjecT II) and our Reuse Now campaign, and will include knowledge-sharing webinars and in-person events, multi-disciplinary stakeholder workshops, collaboration cafes, site visits, blogs, and more.
About DISRUPT
DISRUPT II builds upon the successes of the first DISRUPT project, funded under Innovate UK’s NICER programme and led by ASBP, which explored the innovative reuse of structural steel in construction. The main output of the project was a free-to-download ‘toolkit‘, to provide major supply chain stakeholders involved in steel reuse, ranging from demolition contractors to clients, with guidance, business considerations, case studies and more, to facilitate new market entrants and ultimately achieve a greater supply of reused steel in the construction industry.
One of the main barriers to the significant uptake of steel reuse is the lack of available material generated during refurbishment and demolition projects. DISRUPT II takes a ‘deep-dive’ into the demolition sector, engaging with key industry bodies and demolition contractors to establish the drivers, incentives and guidance required to enable more steel to be reclaimed. The platform will play a key role in fostering engagement between the design, engineering and demolition communities.
About Reuse Now
The Reuse Now campaign will relaunch this September and aims to accelerate the adoption of a wide range of reused and reclaimed building products in the construction industry. The construction industry accounts for over a third of global carbon emissions with 60 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste produced annually in the UK. Estimates suggest that by increasing our reuse of construction products, 22.3 MtCO2e of GHG emissions could be saved during the UK’s fourth and fifth carbon budgets between 2023 and 2034.
The platform will play a key part in the campaign, kicking off with a 2nd Reuse Summit in October 2023, as part of Circular Economy Week. The Summit, hosted by ASBP and the Finishes & Interiors Sector (FIS), will feature talks on the barriers and challenges as well as the latest circular solutions, with panel discussions taking a deeper dive into the shearing layers of ‘Structure, Skin and Services’ and ‘Space and Stuff’.
‘Reuse Now’ is supported by lead sponsor and long-standing ASBP patron member Cleveland Steel and Tubes, with additional support from circular economy experts Reusefully. To learn more about the “Reuse Now” campaign and how you can get involved, please visit https://asbp.org.uk/workstream/reuse-now or contact Debbie Ward at debbie.ward@asbp.org.uk.
The DISRUPT projects have received funding via Innovate UK’s Circular Economy for SMEs competition, in collaboration with the NICER programme, a four-year £30 million investment from UKRI consisting of one hub and five specialist research centres aiming to grow the circular economy community through a significant programme of outreach and collaboration. The project received support from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Metal.
The DISRUPT I project team was made up of steel reuse experts Cleveland Steel and Tubes Ltd, global construction company ISGand the National Federation of Demolition Contractors. Supporters of the project include the Grosvenor Group, one of the world’s largest privately-owned international property businesses.
DISRUPT II project partners and supporters include ASBP, Cleveland Steel and Tubes Ltd and the Institute of Demolition Engineers. To find out more about the DISRUPT projects, please contact Richard Broad at richard@asbp.org.uk.