A UK recycling company has achieved 100% materials reuse in a landfill recovery scheme believed to be the very first of its kind in Europe.

Mytum & Selby Recycling has excavated a site which was used to be a landfill site in Goole, East Yorkshire, so they can build a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) that will open in 2012-13, providing 225,000 tonnes capacity for local authorities and businesses in the area.

Mytum & Selby Recycling’s managing director, Steve Carrie, said: “Landfill is often an issue nobody wants to tackle, but because we have invested in the latest technology, we see it as a great opportunity. At Goole we have been able to treat, reuse and recycle all the old landfill waste to help with levelling, landscaping and building the new centre.”

” The project involved recovering and refining construction materials, and reusing stone and tiling to build the MRF. All plastics, paper and glass were reclaimed and reprocessed. Any remaining food and organic waste was treated at the company’s own organics plant and converted into compost.”

Mytum & Selby will also be looking into other technologies to accompany the MRF on the 17-acre site to create fuels and energy from the residual waste after the bulk segregation process.

BuilderScrap sourced this article from Edie.

Tax officials have confirmed they will be taking on the issue of false self-employment as part of a major crackdown on labour agencies.

Last month it was announced that HM Revenue Customs would be appointing 100 extra inspectors to find agencies believed to be dodging £500m in tax payments.

The Revenue has now confirmed it will also be examining the tax status of workers as part of the campaign.

The news will shock employment agency chiefs who were hoping the spotlight had shifted from employment status as the Government encouraged a flexible workforce due to the current economic climate.

Union chiefs were delighted the net will be increased to include the problem of agencies wrongly applying employment status laws so they are able to avoid paying employers National Insurance contributions and other benefits such as holiday pay.

George Guy Acting General Secretary of Ucatt, said: “The confirmation that the HMRC is cracking down on false self-employment being undertaken by employment agencies is welcome news.”

“False self-employment is endemic in agencies operating in construction and is costing the taxpayer millions of pounds every year in lost revenue.”

“Employment agencies must realise that they can no longer get away with falsely self-employing workers and denying them the most basic employment rights.”

Kevin Green, Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, said: “We are committed to working effectively with the Government to address examples of bogus self-employment.”

“However, it is also critical for the UK economy that we promote legitimate self-employment.”

“If we want to retain a dynamic construction industry in the UK we need to retain its use of a skilled and flexible workforce.”

“Payroll companies help the self employed particularly with the administration of pay. Together with the review of iR35, we urge the Government to look into this whole area as part of their commitment to help small businesses and entrepreneurs.”

BuilderScrap sourced this article from Construction Enquirer.

The amount of energy used during the Royal Wedding was much greater than predicted according to figures released by the National Grid.

The National Grid had predicted lower interest in last Friday’s event, but a surge in TV viewing meant it was the fourth highest energy sapping event in UK television history.

Electricity use peaked at 2,400MW as television coverage followed the newly married Mr and Mrs Windsor back to Buckingham Palace following their wedding in Westminster Cathedral at around 12.40pm.

It was predicted that Charles and Diana’s wedding would remain the most watched royal wedding but their son and his beautiful wife managed to top even theirs. Charles and Diana’s wedding saw an energy surge of 1,800MW which is the equivalent of 720,000 kettles being bottled simultaneously, William and Kate’s was the equivalent of almost one million kettles.

National Grid’s power system manager, John Carnwath, said: “This impact in demand was broadly in line with our forecast, although the final surge was larger than expected, reflecting the huge interest in the event.”

“It was a fascinating day to work in our control room, seeing the huge impact on electricity demand of millions of people across Britain being brought together by William and Kate’s wedding.”

The only TV events to top the wedding were:

·The record of 2800MW set at the end of the nail-biting penalty shoot-out after England’s World Cup semi-final against West Germany in 1990.

·The 2600MW surge in demand after a 1984 episode of The Thornbirds.

·The 2570MW surge at half-time during England’s quarter-final match against Brazil in the 2002 World Cup.

BuilderScrap sourced this article from Edie.

Small contractors are worried about the amount of work they will receive through the Government’s Green Deal.

Members of the Federation of Master Builders fear that the financial incentives are not large enough for homeowners while energy companies and retailers will squeeze them out of the market.

A federation survey showed that almost half of their member contractors thought homeowners were unlikely to take advantage of the Green Deal when it launches in autumn 2012.

Brian Berry, Director of External Affairs at the FMB said: “The Government is hoping that its Green Deal will persuade homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient but almost 44% of our members, small building firms that are in contact with homeowners on a daily basis, think homeowners are unlikely to take advantage of it.”

“If the Government wants the Green Deal to be a success it should start by offering additional incentives. 70% of respondents to our survey believe that cutting VAT to 5% on all energy efficient materials and work would increase homeowner interest.”

“More than a quarter also believe that council tax reductions would be the biggest incentive for homeowners.”

“Small, local building companies should be the natural choice for homeowners wanting to retrofit their property or make it more energy efficient.”

“However, nearly half of FMB members are worried that they will be squeezed out of the Green Deal market by the major energy companies and retailers and 58% felt that it was either very unlikely or unlikely that small and medium sized building companies would see their workloads increase as a result of the Green Deal.”

“The FMB is therefore calling on the  Government to  help small building companies have equal access to the energy efficiency market by allowing an independent third party financial provider to handle Green Deal finance packages.”

“This would help ensure that small building companies can compete fairly with the larger companies who will be offering ‘one–stop-shops’ to consumers.”

BuilderScrap sourced this article from Construction Enquirer.

Output for the construction sector shrank in the first quarter, despite a 0.5% increase in output for the economy as a whole.

GDP figures released by the Office of National Statistics yesterday show construction recorded a dramatic fall of 4.7% over the previous quarter.

The size of the drop has raised questions amongst professional in construction who have cast doubt over the accuracy of the statistics.

Construction Products Association Chief Executive, Michael Ankers said: “Today’s GDP estimate includes a fall in construction output of 4.7% in the first three months of the year.”

“The scale of this fall in the official figures is extremely surprising and is not consistent with information from construction industry surveys or the experience of the companies and sectors that the association represents.”

“The indications are that the construction industry performed better in the first three months than the ONS figures suggest.”

Statistics indicate there may still be a long way to go before we can see sustainable growth across the board. Actions may need to be taken to help the growth of the construction sector, which is responsible for almost 10% of GDP the country will struggle to recover from this economic uncertainty

Almost 50,000 plumbers, gas fitters and heating engineers will be receiving a final warning letters this month, as a national crackdown on industry tax dodgers begins.

Under the HM Revenue & Customs’ so called Plumbers Tax Safe Plan relevant trades are being warned to contact the revenue before inspectors come knocking.

The letters warn that the particular trades have until 31 May to declare earnings and pay the tax they owe.

Those making a full disclosure face a low penalty rate of 10% rising to a maximum of 20%. Once they come forward, they have until 31 August to make their disclosure and arrange for payment. When that time has passed, inspectors will start to pull together all available information to track down tradespeople that have not paid full tax, they will face large penalties and criminal prosecutions.

Over the duration of the year HM Revenue and Customs inspectors will select various specialist trades where they believe there is a large number of people evading paying tax.

Mike Wells, HMRC’s Director of Risk and Intelligence, said: “We are using a variety of intelligence sources to target plumbers who have not declared their full income and I urge tradespeople in this group who think they owe tax on their income to get in touch with HMRC and get their tax affairs in order simply and on the best available terms.”

“The first step for those wishing to avoid a full tax investigation with much higher penalties is to notify us.”

“We do not think everyone who receives a letter owes us tax. However, if you owe tax and don’t get a letter, do not assume that HMRC will not catch up with you.”

BuilderScrap sourced this article from Construction Enquirer.

HM Revenue & Customs is doubling the number of investigators in a bid to crack down on labour agencies who fail to pay tax in a bid to bring in an additional 500m pounds over the next four years.

The extra 100 officers will encourage contractors to use legitimate labour providers and tackle fraud within the industry.

Those found guilty of tax evasion could face jail.

David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said: “This government has invested £900m in HMRC to crack down on people who break the rules.”

“Expanding these teams will help make sure that we bring in the additional money that the UK needs.”

“They aim to stop tax losses and increase tax yields by more than half a billion pounds over the next four years. Gangmasters who think they can exploit their staff and the tax system need to think again.”

Mike Eland, HMRC Director General of Enforcement and Compliance, said: “Building on HMRC’s successful approach to tackling fraud in the labour provider industry, these teams will make it even harder for fraudsters.”

“Labour providers are traditionally found in agriculture and construction, where they supply workers to other businesses.”

“We will tackle fraud by those employers who don’t play by the rules and the organised crime gangs who exploit their workers.”

“We will also work collaboratively with labour users and businesses in these sectors to help them use legitimate providers. This will help to create a level playing field for compliant businesses to compete in the market place.”

BuilderScrap sourced this article from Construction Enquirer.

BuilderScrap has found a number of funny images on the internet and we thought we’d like to share them with our users, these picture certainly show you what not to do in construction.

I think I’d go the long way round!

You’re alright mate, you can go first!

There won’t be too many thieves losing sleep over this.

People wonder why there is so much road rage!

Tut-tut no one is even holding the ladder!

The Highways Agency has published a construction timetable for the 14 major road schemes worth £1.4bn due to start on site by 2015.

Work will start on improvements to the M62 in West Yorkshire, the M4/M5 around Bristol and on the A23 in West Sussex in the next 12 months.

A further three schemes – on the M1 near Sheffield, M6 around Birmingham and A11 in Norfolk – will start in the financial year 2012-2013.

Roads Minister Mike Penning said: “These schemes will deliver vital investment across the strategic road network, driving economic growth and boosting the UK economy.”

“For every pound invested on these schemes on average we will get back £7 of benefits to the economy with some delivering even higher returns.”

The schemes will be built using the Agency’s target of reducing the cost of capital major projects by 20% against original estimates.”

The full list of planned starts between now and March 2015 is:

Start work on three projects in 2011/2012:
- A23 Handcross to Warninglid improvement scheme, West Sussex – between October 2011 and December 2011;
- M62 J25 to J30 Managed Motorway with hard shoulder running, West Yorkshire – between October 2011 and December 2011; and
- M4 J19 to J20 & M5 J15 to J17 Managed Motorways with hard shoulder running, Bristol – between January 2012 and March 2012.

Start work on three projects in 2012/2013:
- A11 Fiveways to Thetford dualling scheme, Norfolk;
- M6 J5 to J8 Managed Motorway with hard shoulder running, Birmingham; and
- M1 J32 to J35a Managed Motorway with hard shoulder running, near Sheffield.

Start work on eight schemes in 2013/14 or 2014/15:
- M25 J5 to J6/J7 Managed Motorway with hard shoulder running, Kent to Surrey
- M25 J23 to J27 Managed Motorway with hard shoulder running, Hertfordshire to Essex;
- M1 J28 to J31 Managed Motorway with hard shoulder running, Derbyshire;
- A556 Knutsford to Bowdon improvement scheme, south of Manchester;
- M60 J8 to J12 Managed Motorway with hard shoulder running, Manchester;
- M60 J12 to J15 (Lane Gain) Managed Motorway, Manchester;
- M62 J18 to J20 Managed Motorway with hard shoulder running, Manchester; and
- M1 J39 to J42 Managed Motorway with hard shoulder running, Wakefield.

The agency will also spend £900m to complete construction on seven schemes:
- A1 Dishforth to Leeming upgrade scheme in 2011/12, North Yorkshire;
- M1 J19 Catthorpe Viaduct replacement scheme in 2011/12, near Rugby;
- A3 Hindhead Tunnelling scheme 2011/12, Surrey;
- M25 J16 to J23 widening scheme in 2012/13, Buckinghamshire to Hertfordshire;
- M25 J27 to J30 widening scheme in 2012/13, Essex;
- M1 J10 to J13 Managed Motorway with hard shoulder running – 2012/13, Bedfordshire; and
- A46 Newark to Widmerpool dualling scheme in 2012/13, near Nottingham.

The Agency will also be developing a further 18 schemes in preparation for future spending review periods.

A small number of schemes will also be identified that could be accelerated to start construction before 2015 if circumstances allow.

The schemes in with a chance of being brought forward are:

- M1 Junction 19 Improvement
- M25 Junction 30
- M6 Junctions 10a – 13
- A14 Kettering Bypass
- A160/A180 Immingham
- A19 Testos
- A19/A1058 Coast Road Junction
- A21 Tonbridge – Pembury
- A27 Chichester Bypass
- A38 Derby Junctions
- A45/A46 Tollbar End
- A453 Widening
- A5-M1 Link Road
- A63 Castle Street

 BuilderScrap sourced this article from Construction Enquirer.

Industry forecasters say there will be a fall in construction output this year and another drop in 2012.

Worrying predictions from the Construction Products Association forecast a drop in output of just less than 1% in 2011 and by a further 2% in 2012.

The falls will hit as private sector construction fails to match the sharp downturn in public sector spending.

Association chief executive Michael Ankers said: “It is especially worrying that the construction industry is going to face another two years of falls in output, particularly given it is an industry that has been identified in the government’s Growth Plan as having a key part to play in the economic recovery.”

“Significant cuts in public spending are inevitable whilst the private sector remains cautious about the pace of the wider economic recovery and consumer confidence remains at low levels.”

“We welcome the steps that the government is taking to stimulate private sector growth but we do not see these in the short term as being sufficient to outweigh the public sector cuts.”

“Availability of finance remains an issue for many companies and the housing market is still being held back by the lack of finance available, particularly for first time buyers.”

The association has produced a wish list for the government to stimulate the construction sector. It wants ministers to:

- Continue to put pressure on the leading institutions to make finance available for house purchase and ensure that the range of initiatives introduced in the recent Budget actually work

- Make sure that planning authorities around the country adhere to the requirement to make a presumption in favour of sustainable development

- Ensure that the localism agenda acts as a stimulus for growth in local communities and does not create a ‘nimby’s charter’

- Try to accelerate the programme for investment in energy supply so that companies have an increased confidence about investing in the UK

- Introduce incentives to encourage householders to invest in the energy efficiency of their homes in advance of the Green Deal policy being introduced at the end of next year.’

Key elements in the latest forecasts are:

- The construction sector is forecast to fall 0.8% in 2011 and 2% in 2012 before rising 0.5% in 2013, 2.3% in 2014 and 3.9% in 2015

- Construction output in 2012 is expected to be 3% lower than the pre-recession peak in 2007

- Public sector construction work to fall £11bn by 2015; key areas to suffer falls in work include education, where work is expected to fall 53%, and health, where work is expected to fall 27%

- Private sector construction work to rise £15 billion by 2015; key areas expected to grow include commercial offices and retail, expected to rise 14% by 2015 and both infrastructure rail and energy, where work is expected to double in the next five years

- Even after five years of consecutive growth, private housing starts in 2015 are still expected to be 16% lower than in 2007, the pre-recession peak

 BuilderScrap sourced this article from Construction Enquirer.