Berneslai Homes Brings Recycling Revolution To Barnsley
Berneslai Homes the Arms Length Management Organisation that manages the Barnsley Council Housing Stock have introduced measures to increase recycling for the long term benefits of the tenants and residents of the Borough.
The Barnsley-based organisation’s repairs and maintenance arm has diverted more than 85% of its waste from landfill and reduced CO2 emissions by over 400 tonnes per year, after introducing a new approach to waste management and recycling with the support of experts at Recycling Action Yorkshire (RAY).
Berneslai Homes Construction Services now separates timber, glass, metal, hardcore, compostables, plastics, even dust and dirt, from its construction waste and sends these resources to local recycling businesses and reprocessors – an approach that places Berneslai at the forefront of best practice in waste management for the social housing sector.
RAY acted as advisors to Berneslai Homes, by helping the management team to identify resources which it could recover from construction and glazing waste and building links with regional recycling businesses.
Mark Ducker, spokesperson for Berneslai Homes commented: “Our policy of recovering and recycling as many materials as possible from construction waste means that we are reducing landfill pressures and contributing to making Barnsley a greener environment”
“We deconstruct all waste glazing products at our site in Barnsley to make sure the glass and frames can be recycled, for instance. The glass we recycle is bought back after recycling and used in the manufacture of replacement windows, and any timber window frames are processed and recycled into kitchen units and chipboard which is installed on our estates as part of Berneslai’s Decent Homes scheme, creating a closed loop recycling system.”
Recycling Action Yorkshire’s project manager for glass, Ben Stone said: “We worked closely with Berneslai Homes to help the organisation establish systems that delivered best practice in waste management. The approach has delivered an impressive reduction in CO2 emissions by over 400 tonnes per year -equivalent to the annual energy use of 76 houses or the emissions from 117 cars. It is also inspiring others in construction and housing management to put resource efficiency at the heart of their operations.”
He added: “We are actively looking to support and work with other businesses similar to Berneslai Homes to reduce environmental impacts and ultimately reduce costs to businesses in the long term.”
Recycling Action Yorkshire is funded by Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Its work with Berneslai Homes is one of many partnerships that RAY is engaged in to help business and the environment benefit from increased resource efficiency and recycling.
END
Recycling Action Yorkshire is a not-for-profit, regional programme funded by Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund. RAY will work in partnership with national and regional stakeholders to stimulate the market for recycled materials throughout the recycling chain from collection and reprocessing, to manufacture and sustainable procurement.