UK builders’ merchant Travis Perkins is launching an innovative trial of a new aggregate product consisting of part-recycled materials.
Travis Perkins will stock the more environmentally-conscious aggregate solution – which includes up to 30% of recycled construction and demolition waste to make MOT Type 1 – in selected branches in the South-East and South-West.
The merchant is putting an initial 25,000 bags of the newly formulated aggregate into its branches and into customers’ hands.
Travis Perkins says the demand for construction aggregates has continued to outstrip permitted reserves for many years, placing unprecedented pressure on future availability.
John Duffy, senior category manager – aggregates at Travis Perkins, said: “Aggregate reserves are dwindling and construction and new housing sectors are already using recycled aggregates to cope with that. Ultimately, a transition towards a recycled solution in the merchant sector has become not just desirable but inevitable.
“That is why we have launched this innovative trial where selected branches will sell a mixed sub-base aggregate made from both quarried and high-quality recycled materials to make MOT Type 1.
“The large quantities involved in this trial – 25,000 bags – demonstrates our commitment to this issue.”
Travis Perkins has partnered with Day Aggregates, a major UK supplier of aggregates to the builders’ merchant and construction industry, to launch the trial.
Through the partnership, selected branches will stock bags comprising traditional Type 1 quarried material, blended with up to 30% of carefully processed recycled content, forming Ecoblend.
Ecoblend is created from locally sourced construction and demolition waste, including recycled asphalt and crushed concrete. It is produced to BS EN Standards and Standards for Highway Specifications.
Travis Perkins says there are other secondary environmental benefits to using recycled aggregates, including reducing the demand on landfill, minimising the need for harmful mining and preserving natural resources.
The more environmentally-conscious aggregate solution of Ecoblend will be sold in black bags rather than the usual green associated with Travis Perkins. This is because the bag itself is made from 50% certified recycled polymer, enhancing the overall sustainability of the product.
