Construction
Are you doing a home renovation project and need to source materials? Or do you have construction material to give away? You can help reduce construction waste by using a reclaimed material vendor.
Did you know that the production of cement (a key ingredient in concrete) is alone responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions?
(Source: Chatham House)
If the cement industry were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest emitter.
(Source: CIRCuIT)
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Emissions of the built environment, including construction, need to be drastically reduced if we are to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by 2030. Mining of raw materials for use in construction (such as sand) also causes habitat destruction and human rights violations around the world.
So how can you help to save valuable materials and bring used ones back into circulation? We have some brilliant solutions right here in Merton and neighbouring boroughs to reuse all sorts of construction materials.
Research
For information on which types of reclaimed construction materials are readily available and which one's aren't check out ReLondon's CIRCuIT project guide.
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ReLondon also have a Material Reuse Portal which is a market comparison website for many of the platforms listed below, plus ebay, freecycle, freegle and others.
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Firstplanit A digital platform with a library of building materials for the construction industry that combines health, well-being and sustainability metrics to help building projects be executed at the highest standard (comprehensive platform but many data fields are still being populated).
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Reuse
For part or entire kitchen suites (and some bathroom items)
Other used household and construction items can be obtained from the following platforms:
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Globechain for connecting reuse marketplace to redistribute items to charities, small businesses and individuals.
Excess Material Exchange, similar to the above is a digital matching platform to find new high value re-use options for materials or waste products for companies.
Enviromate for leftover building materials marketplace.
Salvoweb for buy, sell, reuse platform for salvaged, reclaimed items related to any building, decorating project.
Cleveland Steel, a steel supplier with repurposed, reusable and recertified stock.
Community Wood recycling, a network of social enterprises using reused wood to improve lives.
Community repaint, a network for second hand paint stock.
Recipro-uk, a supplier of surplus stock at low prices for DIY projects.
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You can also donate smaller items to the Work & Play Scrapstore.
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