What do you know about Japanese knotweed?

It has halted developments across the country, caused untold damage to existing housing stock and rendered some properties completely unsellable. How much do you know about Japanese knotweed? As the sun coaxes this nuisance from the ground, Joe Bradbury of buildingspecifier.com investigates:

What is it?

Japanese knotweed is a non-native outdoor plant which grows at an alarming rate of up to 10cm per day. It proliferates in any type of soil and spreads incredibly easily, often leaving extensive damage in its wake.

By aggressively spreading its roots underground (up to 10 feet deep and 23 feet horizontally), it creates a serious threat to foundations of buildings and waste water management solutions.

If left untouched for a long period of time, the species can become very expensive to remove. It is estimated that total annual costs of Japanese knotweed damage, control and removal to the British economy £166 million. Defra’s Review of Non-native Species Policy states that a national eradication programme would be prohibitively expensive at £1.56 billion.

Needless to say, it is listed by the World Conservation Union as one of the world’s worst invasive species and also classed as “controlled waste” in Britain under part 2 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This means that all traces of knotweed need to be disposed of at licensed landfill sites only.

What does it look like?

Could you identify Japanese knotweed if you found it on your property? Because a study undertaken by online garden shop GardeningExpress.co.uk found that only 44% of customers were actually able to identify the invasive plant, and 56% identified the weed as a plant they would actually welcome in their gardens.
Here are some of the easiest ways of identifying knotweed by sight:

  • The plant is a lush green colour
  • Its leaves are shovel shaped
  • The stem looks similar to that of the bamboo plant
  • Between September and October it produces white flowers
  • It grows at an accelerated pace

What to do if you find Japanese knotweed

If you think that you have Japanese knotweed on your land you need to do something about it as soon as possible, to prevent further risk to your property and those close by.

The first thing you need to do is to alert a professional. DO NOT attempt to remove it from the ground yourself; this will merely serve to disperse its stem fragments and cause it to spread even further.

There are three main methods of getting rid of the weed. These can be split into three areas:

Non-chemical control

It is possible (but not always feasible) to dig out Japanese knotweed, but due to the depth of the roots, regrowth often reoccurs regardless. This method also creates problems with disposal, due to the waste needing to be disposed of at a licensed landfill site only. Alternatively, it can be destroyed on site by burning the waste, but only after it has competently dried out.

Biological control

A plant sucker (psyllid) is being released in the UK as a biological control for Japanese knotweed. It is currently only being released at a handful of trial sites and is not available to gardeners. However, if successful it will be released more widely and will become widespread in Britain over the next five to ten years by natural spread.

Chemical control

Perhaps the most effective treatment method is to use special weed killers to keep the plant at bay. Often it takes a lot longer this way (up to three seasons),but can produce great results in the long run. Injecting glyphosate herbicide into the stems of the plant can kill the plant completely with no impact on the surrounding vegetation, landscape or wildlife.

In summary

Japanese knotweed is a major issue for British builders. It is in everybody’s interest to be vigilant towards this invasive plant and prioritise the control and removal of it from our properties altogether – particularly those with surrounding parkland and riverbanks from where the infestations usually originate and spread from in the first place.

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How can the construction industry reduce its plastic usage?

To celebrate ‘Plastic Free July’, Insulation Express has uncovered five ways on buildingspecifier.com that the construction industry can lessen its plastic consumption on a day-to-day basis:

Every year the UK uses over 5 million tonnes of plastic – that’s about 15 times as heavy as the Empire State Building. But did you know the construction industry accounts for a quarter (23%) of the plastic consumed in the UK? The construction industry is still heavily reliant on plastic, for its cheapness, durability and water-resistance making it the second largest consumer of plastic in the UK.

However, what makes plastic so useful for construction is also part of its demise. The resilience of plastic means it can take up to 1000 years to decompose, while it degrades it contaminates our soils and oceans with the release of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases. So, how can the industry lessen its plastic footprint?

The most common sources of plastic waste in construction

When plastic is used in a permanent form, it can be vital as a building material. However, when the material is single-use plastic, this becomes a bigger problem, that’s wasteful and can be easily avoided. These are the most common sources of plastic waste in construction:

  • Plastic packaging (which accounts for 25% of packaging waste in construction).
  • Unused materials from over ordering and off-cuts.
  • Improper storage and handling.
  • Over-specified project design.
  • Workforce food packaging and utensils.

Annually, 50,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste is produced by the UK’s construction industry

It’s believed the construction industry has an effective management of plastic waste, but the picture is not as transparent. The British construction industry generates 50,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste per year – that’s four times the weight of The Brooklyn Bridge. Much of that plastic waste is incinerated, adding toxic fumes to the air we breathe. Other large amounts of plastic are placed in mixed waste skips which is impossible to recycle, because they can’t be identified, or they are contaminated with other materials. This has helped to contribute to 5 trillion micro-plastic particles floating in oceans, which we then consume through water or from fish.

40% of plastic waste from construction in the UK is sent to landfill

It’s estimated that large quantities of plastic leave construction sites in mixed waste skips – sending 40% (20,000 tonnes) of plastic to landfill, a weight that is twice as heavy as The Eiffel Tower.

On the other end of the scale, Germany recovers and recycles a huge proportion of the plastic waste created in construction. In total, Germany generates 201.8 million tonnes of waste in construction and demolition, but around 90% of that is recycled, and around 80% of the plastic waste is recycled.

plastic

How construction can reduce plastic packaging waste in construction

Research reveals that a huge third of single-use packaging leaving sites is single-use packaging. Shockingly, only 2-4% of this is recycled. The rest is diverted to landfill, fly-tipped, or burnt. It is clear that the amount of plastic being sent to landfill is not sustainable for either the environment or construction.

Most of the industry realises something needs to change, with 95% of construction professionals admitting that the industry needs to reduce plastic use. But, how can this be achieved?

  • A huge proportion of packaging thrown away can often be reused. You can talk with your supplier to see if they can reduce the packaging, or if they’re able to take back the packaging to recycle.
  • It may be more beneficial to order in bulk or larger packs, as this will cut the volume of packaging per item.
  • You could use reusable plastic boxes to place and protect materials in. These boxes can then be returned to the supplier.
  • Use large sheets of plastic sheeting that arrived as wrapping for use on site as weather protection.
  • For the plastic packaging that can’t be recycled, send it to a licensed Waste Management Contractor. They are best placed to decide their destination.

Not only does a reduction in packaging waste help the environment, it can also help your business too – financially. One contractor, Risby Homes, saved £13,000 on a 25-home development project, simply by reducing, reusing and recycling their plastic waste.

Construction companies can make simple changes that save money by reducing packaging waste, such as:

  • Cutting costs by reusing packaging where possible.
  • Time spent on handling waste, such as clearing and collecting waste, can be lengthy and pricey. Especially considering this cost can be easily cut by reducing packaging.
  • Slashing the costs of skip hire and transport costs, as well as reducing the ever-increasing fees of landfill sites and tax.

The Innovative Ways Plastic is Being Recycled Across Construction

How can construction reduce and recycle the plastic in construction? Some companies in the industry are even creating decking from recycled plastic, which can save 1000 plastic bottles from landfill in a single metre of decking. That means in just a small sized decking 3,600 plastic bottles could be diverted from landfill.

But it doesn’t just stop there, Insulation Express has discovered the most innovative ways construction are reusing waste materials.

Nappy Roofing – More than half a million tonnes of waste is created in Britain from disposable nappies, and with each one taking around 500 years to decompose this is a concerning problem. But, instead of letting the waste decompose, you could be looking at roofing your house with them. A company have found a way to turn waste nappies into roof tiles, which could save 110,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.

Plastic Roads – Roads are traditionally made from asphalt which uses stone and gravel to form the infrastructure. However, future roads could be made from used plastic – dubbed plasphalt. Amazingly, as well as a way of recycling plastic, this method of forming pavements is also stronger than asphalt and less expensive.

Plastic Concrete – Researchers from Bath University have found an ingenious way to save sand and reuse plastic waste. The scientists have discovered that 10% of the sand in concrete can be replaced with plastic waste. Concrete requires 30% of sand, which strips our beaches and riverbeds. Just replacing 10% of it can save over 800 million tonnes of sand.

What Does the Future Hold for Plastic in Construction?

Plastic still has a place in construction; it’s durable, waterproof and lasts long. Although plastic is polluting our environment, it doesn’t have to be the enemy. Indeed, there are ways for plastic to be part of the solution, such as recycling plastic into other building materials. In the future we may see a massive take up of alternatives to plastic in construction, some of these are already being developed and trialled. But for the average construction professional, you can reduce plastic use by talking to your supplier, educating your workforce and setting a good example to employees.

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MMC: a solution for modern times

Our industry needs to change. To do this, we must cast a critical eye over our own behaviour and acknowledge our shortcomings; something many feel understandably hesitant to do. The bad news is that the UK construction industry is currently responsible for 45% of total UK carbon emissions, 32% of all landfill waste and is responsible for more water pollution incidents than any other industry. The good news is that we have the knowledge, skills and technology to facilitate real change in the world, when we put our minds to it. Offsite construction is the clearly catalyst. It’s time to stop quietly knowing it and start being proud bastions of our trade… before it is too late. Buildingspecifier.com Editor Joe Bradbury discusses:

Material usage

One of the key factors that will either seal our reputation as innovators or sully it indefinitely is the materials we use and how we choose to use them. With an unprecedented shortage of housing and schools in this country (coupled with a thriving private sector), it is clear to see that despite what construction industry doomsayers print, the UK has a voracious appetite for buildings that isn’t going away any time soon.

The construction industry is the largest consumer of natural resources in the UK today; a stark point that highlights just how high up on the agenda reconsideration of our building practices should be. The impact of our materials usage on the environment in of itself is staggering; a recent report by Willmott Dixon Group suggested that the construction industry alone is accountable for around 45-50% of global energy usage, nearly 50% of worldwide water usage, and around 60% of the total usage of raw materials.

Construction will always eat up a lot of resources by its very nature, but modular construction is taking steps to address this through combining modern building techniques to reduce cost and time with a moral sense of duty to minimise the negative effects on our environment.

The benefits of adopting more considerate ways to use materials are far-reaching. Take FSC-approved timber as just one of many examples; manufacturers who use forest products that are FSC approved can do so with confidence, safe in the knowledge that they are helping to ensure our forests are alive and well for generations to come. But the benefits are also far more immediate and closer to home than that; wood is a natural, renewable material, used often in modular building. It offsets our carbon footprint and offers significant thermal efficiency, keeping energy bills low.

For the four million people in Britain living in fuel poverty today, building more energy efficient homes using modern methods of construction is urgent. Interestingly, if housing targets were met through timber-frame construction alone, new build homes in the UK would serve as carbon ‘banks’, capturing and storing nearly 4 million tonnes of CO2 every year… unfeasible I know, but food for thought!

Reducing waste

According to ‘The Waste and Resources Action Programme’, offsite construction can generate up to 90% less waste than traditional onsite building methods. This is largely because a factory is a much more controlled environment than a traditional building site – with far fewer variables. Within the four walls of a purpose built factory we can continue to learn how best to use (and more importantly, re-use) resources and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill; something which is financially unproductive, unpopular, unsightly and unhealthy for our planet.

Another reason for offsite methods generating less waste is due to the fact that modular construction offers a greater degree of reusability; buildings can often be disassembled and moved to another site entirely if necessary. They can be shifted and repurposed when required. However, should a modular building find itself no longer fit for requirement as it stands, many of its components can be salvaged and re-used in another project, reducing the need for fresh new materials in each new build. This reduction in materials usage protects depleting stock of resources whilst simultaneously lowering waste.

Environmentally conscious

Offsite construction is far less energy intensive than traditional building methods. The carbon footprint left by the many construction vehicles and machinery on the site of a traditional construction project alone is considerably larger than that of modular construction. Put simply, fewer vehicles involved and less time spent on site results in less greenhouse gases being released into our environment.

Construction pollutes our world in more ways than one, and noise pollution has always been a serious problem on building sites throughout the country. There’s no getting away from it, the construction industry has a huge impact on all our lives, with most construction work taking place in sensitive locations. But there are things we can do to soften that impact. If all construction sites and companies presented an image of competent management, innovation, efficiency, awareness of environmental issues and above all neighbourliness, then they would become a positive advertisement, not just for themselves but for our industry as a whole. Due to being built away from the construction site, modern methods of construction such as offsite and modular are a great way to reduce and control noise levels, causing less disruption to the environment and the people around it.

In summary

The positive effects of modular construction on our environment cannot be understated and implementing it into our daily lives as an industry needs to happen fast. Widespread adoption coupled with a continuing focus on eco-friendly materials can only increase those benefits.

In the past, fines for pollution have been relatively low and environmental regulations notoriously slack, and it could have been perceived as cheaper (and easier) to pollute rather than take adequate steps to prevent pollution. Thankfully, this situation is now changing. Legal enforcement of environmental regulations expensive and can irreversibly damage the reputation of a firm. This is something that should be avoided at all costs.

With the UK Environment Agency and other government bodies putting increasing pressure on construction companies to reduce pollution and conform to environmental regulations, it is clear to see that change is imminent – the future is coming and we can either chase it or make it our own. Expect modular construction to take an even larger share of the construction industry, for awareness of its benefits to increase even further over time and stand at the forefront of that change.

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Home or Away? Homebuyers increasingly look overseas

The mortgage market review in the UK has displayed how it is getting increasingly harder to obtain a mortgage in Britain. It seems that many investors are now turning their gaze a little further afield in order to get a little more bang for their buck. Joe Bradbury of Building Specifier investigates:

Research undertaken by GoCompare.com indicates that more than 20% of those attempting to get on the UK housing ladder would consider leaving Britain in order to own a home of their own. Whilst this doesn’t mean that those thinking of an overseas mortgage will actually pursue one, it is a clear indication that there appears to be a shifting attitude within the UK regarding the possibility of owning property abroad.

So is this due to Great Britain becoming a growing generation of nomads, or is there something else going on?

In comparison, Santander mortgages conducted a similar survey of their own. Their compiled data suggested that 1.1 million would consider leaving the UK in pursuit of a place to call home. A further 10% said they would happily move jobs or relocate elsewhere in Great Britain to help them purchase their first house. Sadly, the research also revealed that 7.5 million (49%) of non-homeowners don’t ever expect to own a home. This shows the severity of the issues the UK is currently experiencing with house prices and mortgage availability. Needless to say, with such an attitude becoming increasingly prevalent in the country, it can only be expected that people are looking for new, lucrative directions in which to channel their hard-earned cash.

In the past, the majority of people who chose to buy a home overseas did so using savings they had accumulated over the years, or with equity released from their UK residence. However, with UK house prices currently in disarray and the cost of holidays abroad steadily soaring, many are beginning to consider a home abroad as a permanent solution to both problems. This has led to foreign lenders have becoming more inclined to work with prospective UK buyers, and gradually more and more people are borrowing to finance homes abroad.

Another contributing factor that could potentially be attracting many Brits to consider such a big move is the appealing interest rates around the Eurozone. Foreign lenders are often more inclined to work closely with investors, paying attention to their individual needs. For example, if your intention is to buy a property in a popular holiday location and rent it out, the income you make from renting can be offset against the loan for tax purposes. Also, some countries have extremely high wealth charges but these tend to only be payable on equity. Borrowing rather than buying outright could prove to be more financially beneficial, meaning that investors can avoid this pricey tax.

Although Europe seems to get a lot of attention from prospective emigrants, the research also suggests that people are open to the possibility of looking much, much further afield – outside of the EU. To be specific, 31% showed interest in America, 29% in Australia and 20% in New Zealand. A property in any one of these countries need not be solely a personal home, but could provide a tidy income through letting and would likely appreciate in the long term.

Whatever the reasoning and regardless of how many choose to leave Britain in order to improve their opportunities, both investigations suggest a sea change in the UK property market. It seems homebuyers are increasingly feeling like they are left with two choices, do they ride the tide or risk being left out to dry as the currents shift within the sector.

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Joe Bradbury explores the true potential of wood

As the built environment moves towards becoming eco-friendly, buildingspecifier Editor Joe Bradbury posits the question – are we not seeing the wood for the trees in the quest for a viable green alternative?

The construction industry accounts for almost 7% of the economy in the UK and we hold a 10% share of total employment. However, with great size comes great responsibility and unfortunately – a very big carbon footprint. 47% of greenhouse gas emissions are generated from buildings and 10% of CO2 emissions come from construction materials. Shockingly, 20% of the materials used on the average building site end up in a skip. According to a 2011 report, in 2010 up to 4.3 million tonnes of timber waste was generated.

However, it isn’t all doom and gloom and reckless capitalism, as the construction industry has come on leaps and bounds over the past 20 years or so in a bid to make the industry a cleaner, greener entity. One area where vast improvements have been made is in the recycling and usage of wood in buildings. In 1992, less than 2% of all waste wood was recycled; 10 years later approximately 60% (2.8 million tonnes) of all wood waste generated in the UK was recycled.

The energy industry is also beginning to see the potential of wood for cleaning up its act. Because trees absorb carbon dioxide whilst they grow, burning wood for energy is considered ‘carbon neutral.’ In 2010 around 0.55 million tonnes of wood was used in energy generation. Some coal-fired power stations have had some of their boilers converted to accept wood and they burn more than 100,000 tonnes of recycled woodchip a year.

Remarkably, the future of wood in construction of buildings has reached soaring new heights recently as innovations in engineered timber could spell the beginning of a new era of eco-friendly wooden skyscraper design.

Despite wood in its raw form not being able to compete with the steel-frame design used in skyscrapers globally, a new type of super-plywood has been created that just might give steel a run for its money.

By gluing layers of low-grade softwood together to create timber panels, today’s “engineered timber” resembles Ikea flat-packed furniture rather than traditional sawn lumber and removes the height limits usually imposed on buildings with timber frames. Free from these constraints, ambitious architects are exploring the possibility of a next generation of “plyscrapers.”

Architect Michael Green has drawn up plans for a 30-storey, naturally grown tower for downtown Vancouver, which if built would become the world’s highest wooden building – an accolade currently awarded to London’s Stadthaus at nine storeys and the 10-storey Forte Building in Melbourne.

With China next on the list of countries suspected to implement timber skyscrapers into their cityscapes, it is definitely possible that we could one day be working in a building that began life as a seed.

However, there is still deep mistrust of timber builds en masse, with many considering them a tinderbox responsible for causing ravaging city fires such as the great fire of London, San Francisco and Chicago, to name a few examples.  Whilst historically fires have razed great cities to the ground, today’s engineered timber develops a protective charring layer that maintains structural integrity and burns very predictably. This means that it would actually be more structurally sound than steel, which warps drastically under intense heat.

NASA satellite photos of our planet help biologists calculate the number of trees there are on Earth. Whilst impossible to settle on a specific number, many professors agree that there are roughly 61 trees per person worldwide. It requires 22 trees to produce the amount of oxygen consumed by one person, with an acre of trees producing enough oxygen for 18 people. The forest loss is 49,421 acres per day, equivalent to an area twice the size of Paris – an alarming statistic when you consider the expanding population.

Obviously trees alone aren’t the answer to the construction industry’s environmental issues, however, through responsible usage and with the utmost respect it could help us edge further towards that cleaner, greener future we all need.

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Dangers of modern slavery in construction

Sadly and unbeknownst to many people, slavery did not end with abolition in the 19th century. It is estimated that there are 27 million slaves in the world today, many of these work in the global construction industry. According to the charitable organisation ‘Free the Slaves’, these desperate individuals come with an average price tag on their head of £67.51 each – How much is your life worth?

A new report by LexisNexis BIS, called Hidden in Plain Site – Modern Slavery in the Construction Industry, has analysed articles from more than 6,000 licensed news sources in more than 100 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North and South America, Africa and Asia between January 2015 and May 2016.

It shows that throughout the global construction industry and its material supply chains, forced labour and other exploitation that constitutes modern slavery are common, concealed and subject to inadequate prevention, policing and prosecution.

It concludes that governments, businesses and the media all have a role to play in combating modern slavery.

The report follows a pledge by UK Prime Minister Theresa May in July to spend £33 million on global initiatives to tackle modern slavery. She described it as “the great human rights issue of our time.”

Mark Dunn, Director at LexisNexis Business Insights Solutions, notes “Our report shows that there is a strong risk of forced labour taking place in the construction industry and its supply chains. Given that the construction industry employs an estimated 7% of the global workforce, this means countless thousands of workers are leading lives of misery and injustice.

“Forced labour needs to move up the global agenda. A wide range of stakeholders – international bodies, governments and the public sector, industry organisations, construction companies, investors, the media and civil society – have roles to play in preventing and avoiding collusion in worker exploitation in the construction industry. LexisNexis BIS is committed to actively working to advance the rule of law, through its day-to-day business, products and services, and its actions.”

Kevin Hyland OBE, UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, said “I am pleased to see numerous sectors waking up to the crime of Modern Slavery, and the Lexis Nexis BIS report excellently educates those in the construction industry on this evil crime.

“Businesses, government and civil society have a crucial role in combatting modern slavery, and this report highlights just that. Through responsible media reporting, businesses especially are encouraged to be open about supply chains, and ultimately protect those most at risk of exploitation.

“Those in construction are especially vulnerable to this crime; with high demand for low wage labour, we must therefore strive to see a thriving construction industry that values ethical recruitment and fair employment if we ever hope to end this evil trade in human beings.’

The report is based on desk research, expert insights and analysis of wide-ranging media coverage. It defines the scope and many aspects of the problem, and breaks it down according to region (Europe, Middle East, North and South America, Africa, Asia) and the procurement of specific building materials. Relevant international regulation and standards frameworks, along with individual countries’ legislative measures (or lack of them), are examined.

Case studies in the report include allegations of forced labour being used to build World Cup 2022 stadiums in Qatar, a marine construction project in the USA, and Brazilian workers at an industrial plant in Angola.

In particular, the report relates to compliance with the recently introduced UK Modern Slavery Act 2015. The UK Home Office estimated in 2014 that there were 10,000–13,000 potential victims of modern slavery in the UK.

More than 20 million people are in forced labour globally, the International Labour Organization estimated in 2012. The Walk Free Foundation’s 2016 Global Slavery Index estimates that there are 45.8 million people in modern slavery across the world. In a 2015 report by the European Union, construction ranked second on the list of economic sectors in the EU most prone to labour exploitation. Of the 21 countries that participated in the research, nine put construction at the top of their list.

The fact of the matter is that once working on a building site under a hard hat and hi-vis clothing, a victim becomes perfectly camouflaged and unnoticed by foremen, building specifiers and professionals within the industry. This means that well before shovels hit the ground, responsible checks must be carried out to ensure we are not inadvertently supporting an evil, inhumane trade. Despite the good work carried out by various charitable organizations and governments, the eradication of slavery is impossible without the assistance of big businesses and entire industries.

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