How temporary buildings reduce waste in the construction industry

Temporary buildings are structures that are designed to be easily assembled, disassembled, and relocated – making them extremely appealing to businesses of all sizes and types.

However, all of the construction materials used for modular buildings can see waste generated, filling up landfills – unless companies use recyclable materials.

At Useful Structures, we’re passionate about creating beautiful, bespoke modular buildings for our clients – and limiting time spent on construction sites.

Read on to find out how temporary buildings can help reduce construction waste.

Why reducing waste in the construction industry is important

Unfortunately, in the construction industry, there is a lot of waste. All of this waste finds its way to landfills and waste-grounds. Fortunately, the modular construction industry is finding ways of reducing waste, ensuring a better environmental impact across the board.

Here is why it’s so important to reduce construction waste:

Less pollution

Construction waste contributes to water, air, and noise pollution, and all three have negative effects on people’s health.

So, by simply reducing construction waste, a company can almost eliminate all three types of pollution.

Reduced landfill sites

Landfill sites are common places where construction waste is dumped, but when this piles up, it creates pollution. It can also produce unpleasant smells that can impact local residents and communities.

By reducing waste and using reusable materials, you can directly reduce the size and impact of landfill sites.

Lessen climate change

By helping to reduce the size and quantity of landfill sites, you’re reducing the amount of CO2 emissions sent into the atmosphere.

Too much CO2 is harmful to the environment, causing climate change to worsen.

Save money

By reusing materials, you can experience fantastic savings compared to buying new ones every time. By reusing materials, you’re also reducing the amount you spend on disposal fees. Efficiency is also a major benefit of using reusable materials because there’s no waiting around for deliveries – you can get to work when required, saving more money in the long run.

How to reduce construction waste

There are many ways a construction business can reduce the amount of waste it produces. With the below waste management practices, you can too.

Order the right amount of materials

The first step to reducing waste in the construction industry is by ordering the correct number of materials. It can be tempting to over-order to ensure you have more than enough, but this can contribute to greater waste.

Measure and check everything twice before ordering parts and materials so there’s no risk of excessive waste.

Use prefabricated components

Another way to reduce construction waste is by using prefabricated building materials. These tend to last much longer as they’re not exposed to the weather, and they can be used repeatedly so any leftover materials can be stored on-site for your next project.

This is one of the major benefits of modular and temporary structures and a key step to how they reduce waste across the industry.

Choose sustainable materials

By choosing sustainable materials, you are making a conscious choice to reduce waste and have materials that are easily recyclable and reduce costs of disposal.

Sustainable materials like wood or metal can be reused and recycled (and are an excellent choice for temporary buildings), while concrete blocks, bricks, and rubble can end up in a landfill.

Store construction materials properly

When materials aren’t in use, such as bricks and wood, you should do your best to keep them covered to protect them from the elements. As the weather in the UK isn’t always the best, it’s important to keep your materials in the best condition possible, thus ensuring you limit waste materials.

Incorporate a site waste management plan

To effectively and safely dispose of waste materials, you should incorporate a waste management plan into your processes.

An excellent waste management plan will cover the construction project’s handling of materials from start to finish. A plan includes the following steps:

• Figuring out who will be responsible for resource management
• What type of waste will be generated?
• How the waste is managed; reduced, reused or recycled.
• If using contractors, how will they dispose of their materials?

What are the benefits of temporary structures?

While there are many advantages to temporary structures and modular buildings, there are three key benefits regarding waste and its environmental impact.

• Reducing waste – Temporary structures are usually constructed off-site in controlled environments, which minimises waste. Careful planning is involved in temporary and modular buildings to streamline the construction process and minimise waste as much as possible.
• Improved energy efficiency – Temporary buildings have a smaller environmental footprint than traditional buildings both during the construction stage and when in use.
• Reduced environmental impact – Temporary buildings require fewer resources during construction compared to permanent structures. They utilise fewer raw materials and require less land for construction; impact on-site is minimal and used for the final stages of installation.

How can Useful Structures help your business?

At Useful Structures, we have helped businesses just like yours create a temporary structure that suits their needs. We have extensive modular construction experience, using sustainable materials on all builds.

Whatever industry you’re in, we can bring your ideas to life. Whether you want specialised lighting, colours, or windows, we can do it – all while focusing on waste reduction and lessening our environmental impact.

Additionally, if you require your own waste management facilities, we can provide these too. Our Beta modular waste management facilities are a comfortable environment that can reduce utility costs thanks to a membrane roof that produces natural light.

If you’re interested in working with Useful Structures, don’t hesitate to contact us.