Recycled aggregate sector calls for Environment Agency U-Turn on waste permit levy

Leading recycled aggregate companies have called on the Environment Agency to re-consider its controversial new levy forced on the industry to fund fighting crime waste. The Environment Agency plans to impose a 10% levy on compliant firms’ waste permit fees from April to help tackle unscrupulous operators. The levy has been described as “unjust” for […]

The Sheehan Group prevents more than one million tonnes of waste going to landfill

Recycling and sustainable construction firm the Sheehan Group is celebrating a landmark recycling milestone. It has now saved more than one million tonnes of construction and demolition waste from UK landfill sites in the decade since it significantly invested in CDE recycling technology. High-grade recycled products The advanced recycling plant is used to wash construction […]

Call to use recycled sand to preserve natural resource

The Sheehan Group has appealed for the construction industry to further embrace recycled sand – to help preserve the threatened natural resource. A recent United Nations Report revealed sand is the second most consumed resource on Earth and is on the endangered natural resource list. Globally around 13 billion tonnes of sand is mined for […]

Sheehan Group backs Recycle Week 2023

To mark Recycle Week 2023 the Sheehan Group is encouraging more construction contractors to embrace the Circular Driven Economy to drive down waste. Now in its 20th year, Recycle Week is an annual awareness building event designed to celebrate recycling and inspire people to adopt more positive behaviours. This year the focus is on ‘missed […]

Construction and demolition recovery rates can be more effective

Sheehan Group Managing Director Chris Sheehan on why the mass adoption of the circular economy to re-purpose C&D waste can deliver significant carbon savings in construction industry High recovery rates of construction and demolition waste in Europe is still mainly achieved via practices such as backfilling and low-grade recovery applications. At first glance this gives […]

Technology and behaviour change key to construction industry hitting net-zero

The UK generates around 222 million tonnes of waste per year, with construction and demolition waste accounting for almost two-thirds of the total. The statistics revealed annually by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirm the industry is the single largest contributor to waste generation in the UK. It accounts for more than […]

Recycling Week 2021: how to reduce waste in the construction industry

Amid the global climate emergency there is an urgent need to reduce waste in the construction industry. Today marks the beginning of Recycling Week 2021 and the theme this year is ‘Step It Up and fight climate change’. Recycling Week is a celebration of recycling and is organised by circular driven economy and efficient resources […]

What are the benefits of using recycled aggregate?

Recycled aggregate is increasing in popularity as a sustainable construction product that helps reduces the carbon footprint of infrastructure and building projects. According to recent statistics the UK is well ahead of the European average for using recycled and secondary sources of construction aggregates. In 2018 recycled and secondary aggregate supplied 28% of total demand […]

Education and collaboration key to achieving Net Zero in construction industry

By Chris Sheehan, Managing Director at the Sheehan Group Becoming carbon neutral is now firmly on the agenda in the boardrooms of most major UK infrastructure companies. There has been a shift in mentality, fuelled by the Government’s Zero Carbon target of 2050. Whereas previously some companies simply paid lip service to sustainability many are […]

Concrete industry uniting to become carbon neutral

A ‘Concrete Action for Climate’ platform has been launched nationally to help drive the industry’s journey to carbon neutral by 2050. The concrete and cement industry, which has cut emissions proportionally by 20% over a 30-year period is seeking wider support to achieve its sustainability ambitions. The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) and World Economic […]

Britain makes carbon neutral progress – but we can go further

Data has revealed Britain is halfway towards its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 – but there is no room for complacency. The news came as the Government also set out plans for industry to cut emissions, including wasting less energy and developing low-carbon technologies. It will see the construction industry use more low-carbon […]

Five ways to make your construction projects more sustainable

The construction industry is one of the biggest users of natural resources and contributors to pollution, globally. It is an unenviable statistic the construction industry needs to reverse to help address the global climate emergency. The need for change has never been greater. The challenge is to continue to meet the demands for housing and […]

Accelerating sustainable construction to help achieve the UK’s carbon-zero vision

The government has set a target for the UK to become carbon neutral by 2050, after declaring an ‘environmental and climate emergency’. It has put clean growth at the heart of the UK’s industrial strategy as part of its ambition to become net zero within 30 years. Recent government data shows the construction, operation, and […]

How the UK construction industry can help answer the UN’s call for urgent human action to solve environmental crisis

The general secretary of the UN has issued a stark warning – humanity is killing nature. In his severe global warning António Guterres said: “Humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal. Nature always strikes back – and it is already doing so with growing force and fury. Biodiversity is collapsing. One million species […]

Sand: The natural resource that is under threat and how recycling is part of the solution

After fresh water, sand is the world’s most widely consumed natural resource. It is the key material in many construction products including concrete, asphalt, and glass and is critical to the modern world. And with numerous beaches around the world and quarries churning out construction quality sand one would think sand is in rich supply […]

Commitment to the Circular Driven Economy can drive a Covid-19 recovery

The circular economy is a concept in which materials are produced to be constantly recycled or re-used. Covid-19 has been a deep human and economic disaster and our thoughts remain with everyone impacted by the pandemic. The crisis has starkly highlighted the risks associated with many production and consumption systems that rely heavily on global […]

Sheehan Group produces record volume of low carbon concrete blocks

The Sheehan Group have produced 380 miles of recycled concrete blocks in the past 12 months – the equivalent of the distance between Oxford and Edinburgh. We produce the concrete blocks by recycling leftover aggregate from demolition and construction sites – saving it from landfill. Construction waste is recycled at the Sheehan Group’s CDE Global […]

Circular driven economy in construction is critical to tackling climate emergency

The world’s consumption of natural resources has reached record levels, but recycling is falling, the think tank Circle Economy has revealed. Circle Economy has reported the amount of material used has reached 100bn tonnes a year. Its report warns the huge strain being placed on the world’s resources due to unsustainable extraction of fossil fuels, […]