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The story…

Reducing construction waste

Learn language related to…

construction

Need-to-know language…

wooden pallets - trays made of wood used to transport heavy items

skip – large metal container for waste items to be taken away in

manufacturing – making of things on a large scale

supply chain – sequence of processes to make and distribute products

building sites – areas where a structure is being built or refurbished

Answer this…

How many times do they hope to use the new wooden pallets?

Transcript

Wherever you see building works, you’re likely to spot these: wooden pallets.
And here is why they are useful. They allow bulky items to be easily transported. The UK construction industry gets through about 18 million of them each year - and the vast majority are used only once.

Julia Messenger, Sustainability Manager, BAM
So, when we get pallets, we'll store them on site and effectively put them in the skip. What we want to move towards though is material reuse, where the pallets are being reused over and over again.

All of those single-use pallets require thousands of hectares of trees to be harvested each year. And of course, manufacturing, transporting and disposing of them creates a significant carbon footprint. So, could these colourful pallets be part of a solution? They don't look too different, but they're designed to be stronger, so they can be used multiple times. A group of major construction companies - including BAM - who run this site in Dartford, London, have signed a pledge to address the use of pallet waste and try a new system devised by a former pallet manufacturer.

Paul Lewis, Founder, The Pallet Loop
Today, it's very much a linear model of distribute and discard at the end. So, we're looking to create a circular solution.

A deposit system means the extra cost of these pallets is passed down the supply chain. The hope is that each one can be used at least half a dozen times. Used ones are returned to a local hub for repair and redistribution.

The new pallet system is due to take off on building sites early next year.

Did you get it?

How many times do they hope to use the new wooden pallets?

The hope is that each one can be used at least half a dozen times.

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