On the average job, contractors happily chuck away enough recyclable material to triple their profit. But not for much longer, if the DTI, environmental responsibility and economic sanity have any bearing on the matter. The UK construction industry generates more than 100 million tonnes of waste every year - and we're running out of holes to dump the stuff in. Running out of money, too. Disposal costs can only go up - landfill tax is being ratcheted up and an increasing number of materials are being classified as hazardous. Yet the number of sites where hazardous waste can be deposited legally has been reduced to a handful, meaning long, expensive journeys have to be undertaken to get rid of it. Above all, as the climate of opinion changes, it is becoming unacceptable to chuck away perfectly good materials that could be reused. The Major Contractors Group has cottoned onto this and has just published a sustainability charter that includes targets for waste reduction.
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