Transforming insulation into a waste-free circular product

8 April 2024

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Promoting a circular economy, the GreenStuf Takeback Programme is turning waste into new insulation material that will keep Kiwi buildings healthy for decades to come.

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Cassie McKenzie

Insulation is essential in all projects, keeping our buildings warm, dry and healthy. However, like many building materials, excess, unused insulation will inevitably be taken to landfills.

With a commitment to promoting a sustainable construction industry and helping others on the road to a circular economy, GreenStuf has introduced its Takeback Programme – a sustainable solution for those looking to remove GreenStuf insulation, offcuts and packaging that are no longer needed for projects and recycle them into new insulation.

“At GreenStuf, we view waste as a resource with potential, not something to be disposed of,” says Ben Hutter, national sales manager at GreenStuf.

“We have always had a zero-waste manufacturing system in place. However, we have listened to the market and realised we need to be part of diverting construction waste as well. The biggest part of this was creating a use for the materials, which has been a challenge. All of our GreenStuf products have up to 85 per cent previously recycled PET fibre and our new Takeback Programme means we have the potential to always keep this away from landfill.”

Recently, 420kg of GreenStuf insulation was diverted from landfill at a demolition site in Auckland’s CBD. This will then be reused and will be turned into new insulation.

However, the success of Greenstuf's Takeback Programme relies heavily on partnerships and collaboration, with support needed across projects and the wider industry to ensure the programme remains a viable solution.

“This uptake in the specification of materials that we produce from this waste is key for the Takeback Programme to succeed. We will need support from the New Zealand construction industry to use these materials and hold us to account for developing more.”

At GreenStuf, we view waste as a resource with potential, not something to be disposed of.

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A joint venture

An early adopter in diverting construction waste from landfill with the GreenStuf Takeback Programme is Naylor Love.

In 2021, GreenStuf’s sustainability manager Jonathan Mountfort collaborated with Annie Day, environmental manager at Naylor Love, to pilot the takeback of leftover GreenStuf insulation used in a high school construction project.

“Through this pilot, our aim was to steer the industry towards better cooperative practices,” says Day. “Both companies helped each other achieve their goals.”

The pilot resulted in a 100 per cent return of waste product and packaging – its success seeing the official launch of the Takeback Programme early last year and proving that construction waste doesn’t always need to be thrown straight into a skip.

“Naylor Love have been early adopters to diverting construction waste from landfill and we have been lucky enough to partner with them on two large projects,” says Hutter. “Now that we have completed our Takeback Programme, we are hoping to work closely with architects, main and sub-contractors and clients to make this the new normal.”

Jonathan Mountfort, GreenStuf’s sustainability manager, adds: “The success of any takeback scheme is going to be driven by the commitment of the main contractor and its subcontractors. The drive to achieve Green Star ratings will of course be a big motivator, but ongoing legislative change will eventually make proper product stewardship a must-have.”

Divert your construction waste from landfill with the Takeback Programme

A dedicated bin is available in Onehunga for GreenStuf insulation offcuts and demolition waste to be dropped off before being transformed into new products under the Takeback Programme.

“In Auckland, we have also committed to taking the next step and offering a collection service of waste from sites to encourage the use of this programme,” says Hutter. “For the rest of New Zealand, we are working project to project to support this, and are always looking for partners in the industry to make this a standard process for everyone.”

The Takeback Programme is also included in the Masterspec sections for all GreenStuf products.

“If you are working on a project that is using GreenStuf, I would recommend touching base with your local GreenStuf account manager to help you through this process.

“Construction waste is becoming a major concern and we want to play our part in fixing this issue. However, we will need support from everyone in the construction industry to make this programme a success.”

Explore the range of GreenStuf products on ArchiPro today and get in touch with the team to learn more about doing your part for the environment by minimising waste through the GreenStuf Takeback Programme.

Disclaimer: GreenStuf® is a registered trademark.