Newton waterproofing continues to drive sustainability

Despite a year of challenges and changing circumstances, with more national lockdowns, huge increases in the cost of materials, and greater pressure on suppliers, Newton Waterproofing, the UK’s leading independent designers and suppliers of guaranteed waterproofing systems, has kept sustainability at the top of its agenda.

Now in its fifth full year, the award-winning and free Newton Recycling Service is still pushing sustainability best practice in UK waterproofing. This includes the biggest development in 2021, expanding the service to also recycle plastic and metal bottles and containers through a new partnership with a leading specialist in hazardous waste management.

Another trend that became increasingly clear in 2021 was the efficiency with which Newton’s specialist contractors are using their materials – whilst this is resulting in less material returned for recycling, it also means that there is less waste being created in the first place. Thanks to the reports generated by the service, it enables the contractors to see exactly how much they are recycling and how this affects their overall material efficiency.

According to Newton’s fifth annual Sustainability Report, the company recycled 2.608 tonnes of membrane in 2021 by collecting 126 bags of waste membrane offcuts.

This avoided the production of 2.99 tonnes of carbon dioxide – the equivalent to over 11,712 kilowatt hours of energy, which would be enough energy to make 416,453 mugs of tea.

A History of Product Sustainability

Newton has been at the forefront of sustainability in UK waterproofing for many years. In 2001, it introduced Newton BaseDrain and FloorDrain, the integral drainage system within the Newton CDM System, which are made from 100% recycled PVC. Furthermore, in 2017, Newton 508 eco Floor and 520 eco were introduced – the first cavity drain membranes in the UK to be manufactured from 100% recycled HDPE and also hold third-party BBA certification.

That same year, Newton introduced the first recycling service for waterproofing waste products, recycling over three tonnes that same year. The service provides participating contractors with their own sustainability data, as well as the ability to produce site-specific recycling reports for clients.

In the years since, Newton’s Recycling Service has gone from strength to strength, expanding to also recycle metal and plastic bottles and containers, and recycling over 20 tonnes of material in total.

During this period, the Newton CDM System also became the first cavity drain waterproofing solution to gain certification to the BES 6001 standard for Responsible Sourcing.

Consequently, as well as being a comprehensive and maintainable ‘Type C’ waterproofing solution, thanks to Newton’s comprehensive management systems, the Newton CDM System is now also the only Type C waterproofing system available from a UK supplier with BES 6001 certification that will also contribute towards the BREEAM environmental assessment method for UK buildings.

How Does the Recycling Service Work?

Since 2017, Newton’s Recycling Service has evolved into a streamlined and efficient process.

From its warehouse, waterproofing products such as HDPE cavity drain membranes and PVC drainage systems are delivered to its specialist contractors across the UK, who then install them and collect all of the off-cuts and waste in dedicated bags provided by Newton.

Whilst making deliveries of new products to its specialist contractors, Newton collects the full bags of recycling and returns them to the Newton head office on the backload, therefore avoiding creating additional emissions.

Thanks to an investment in an industrial granulator, plastics are then processed in-house according to the type of material, and stored in the Newton warehouse in bulk bags.

Once a large quantity of processed material has been accumulated, the bulk bags are collected by one of the UK’s largest plastic recyclers, who transform all of it into new raw materials, ready for the next stage in its lifecycle.

The Newton Recycling Service is a closed-loop process as the recycled raw material is sold by the plastics recycler to construction materials manufacturers, who turn it into new construction products, such as pipe work.

Looking to the future

Newton Waterproofing’s Managing Director Warren Muschialli comments: “We are incredibly proud of our Recycling Service, and as always, we believe that there should be no barriers to sustainability. As such, our Recycling Service has always been, and will continue to remain completely free in 2022.

“We look forward to developing our sustainability targets further in 2022 and engaging with even more companies to help them achieve their goals.

“We are committed to helping shape the UK’s green agenda and providing sustainable construction by helping combat the industry’s waste problems. And we want all our customers to know that when you work with Newton, you are using a socially responsible company with sustainability at the top of its agenda.”