Wrap and RIBA launch waste-reduction competition

Waste & Resources Action Programme and the Royal Institute of British Architects are launching a design competition to address the issue of construction waste through design.

Designing Out Waste will award a shared fund of £20 000 to cover the costs of selected entries, which will tackle either a new-build redevelopment, office or primary school.

Wrap estimates that the construction industry wastes £1.5bn a year in unused materials, using more natural resources and producing more waste than any other UK industry.

Estelle Herszenhorn, project manager at Wrap, says, ‘More than 120m tonnes of waste is produced each year, which is more than a third of all the UK’s total annual waste.’

Herszenhorn concedes that designers and architects have learnt to address sustainability, but says Wrap wants entrants to think about planning for waste reduction in construction.

 ‘They need to ask, “How can you build the same building more efficiently?”’  she says, adding, ‘maybe think about different foundations that use less material or how to avoid dumping in landfill sites.’

The competition is open to architects, designers and professionals from construction-related industries and students of design, architecture and construction related subjects.

Entries must be submitted by 30 June – a full brief can be found at www.designingoutwaste.org.uk.