The climate crisis is a tough subject and the last 18 months have shown that. While throughout the past year many things have been out of our control, the climate crisis is something we can all help do something about. Most of us already do, through small but powerful habits such as recycling. 

We are proud of our contributions and have already achieved some major milestones, but like everyone we know we need to do even more. So, in support of Step It Up this Recycle Week, we are sharing these initiatives and also our future Step It Up ambitions.

Our Environmental & Recycling Initiatives

This week we've shared 5 initiatives on our Facebook page, here's a round up of those we posted:

1. Our picking station and inert waste screener is run on solar power

The Warrior 2100 is powered by our very own solar farm, with any excess power going to the grid as Green Energy!

2. Our main wash plant in New Milton runs solely on electric

The plant also recycles the water it uses to wash the aggregates and uses a pond friendly flocculant to clean the water (as well as processing recycled aggregates alongside our primary aggregates).

3. Our BSI compliant concrete plant at New Milton only uses recycled water

Concrete is an important construction material used extensively in buildings, bridges and roads but its production requires large amounts of water. Therefore making use of recycled rain water reduces its impact on the environment and local water sources.

4. Our Wareham Quarry could be powered solely by wind

Being a clean fuel source, this will not release any pollution or produce any waste during operation. Wind energy can also lead to an overall reduction in carbon emissions.

5. Our Step It Up ambition for zero waste to landfill

We are committed to investing in technologies that will enable us to achieve ZERO waste to landfill.

Recycling across the NMSB business

At NMSB, we go much further than just these initiatives and we look at recycling across the business in two ways - internally and externally.

Internally

Our Company core values are to invest, be dynamic and have integrity. These were built around an unwavering belief and commitment to delivering a safe and sustainable service. Our internal methods focus on reducing, reusing and recycling. This ranges from recycling our plastics and paper in the offices, to sustainability initiatives such as reducing emissions across the fleet, using green technology and our restoration programmes (which has seen the introduction of rich biodiversity of birds, plants and insects at our Downton lakes).

We are also proud to have held the ISO 14001 accreditation for environmental management since 2010. Our commitment to the environment is formally set out in an environmental policy, which includes regular audits of all the business areas. Our environmental management system allows all operations across our sites, quarries, waste facilities and offices to be managed in line with stringent environmental policies, legislation and procedures.

Externally

Our external focus is on our waste management services. We take waste from our customers through our skips, direct tipping from trade customers at our sites, and from inert jobs (referred to as muck away). All waste then goes to our recycling facility at Pennington.

On average we process approximately 9500 tonnes of inert and concrete/rubble waste per month. We also recycle commercial waste at our facility by putting this through our Material Recycling Facility (MRF/ picking station) which processes 1250 tonnes per month. Wood waste is graded, so some can be burned safely through biomass centres whereas others can be turned into other consumables such as animal bedding. Rigid plastics, film, builder’s bags and card can be bailed and recycled to be re-used.

Recycling Centre Team

Our goal is to capture and recycle as much waste as we can and avoid it ending up in landfill, helping to provide a sustainable future for generations to come. The above photo is our hard working and conscientious team based at our Recycling Centre. This team, along with all staff at NMSB, work hard to support our green initiatives across the entire business.