We are delighted to announce that BuilderScrap has an exciting new identity.  From today the company is called recipro.

We still stand for all the same values – promoting and aiding the re-use and redistribution of construction materials, providing reciprocal benefits for the construction industry, local communities and the environment.  Our member base is now over 5000 around the UK and Ireland, and as well as construction and trade companies of all sizes, it includes charities, community groups, schools and many more.

The exciting growth and change for the company has led to the launch of the new identity- recipro.

You will still find all the same fantastic features you had with BuilderScrap, and watch this space for updates and features coming soon.  Remember it is completely free to use the website to pass on and find left over and re-usable construction materials!

Our new website is www.recipro-UK.com and all your login details will remain the same.

Managing Director, Les Owens comments on the re-branding: ‘We are really excited about the change as it demonstrates how far we have come from our beginnings as a website purely for small building companies to exchange left over materials amongst themselves. They can still do that, and it is those 5000 plus members who have helped us to realise the potential and need for the service to encompass all levels of the industry, as well as local communities’.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us on 0844 225 3000 or info@recipro-UK.com

Let us know what you think!

For twitter how about something like – Launched today – the brand new face of BuilderScrap – we have now rebranded as recipro http://recipro-UK.com

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.

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.

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.

The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton tomorrow (April 29) is not going to burn through as much energy as William’s parents.

A number of different factors are likely to lead to greatly increased demand on the UK’s energy system, but not on the scale of the 1981 wedding of Charles and Diane, according to researchers from the National Grid.

The 1981 event saw an energy surge of 1800 megawatts, that’s the equivalent of 720,000 kettles being boiled at the same time, as the nation stared at TV sets and enjoyed a cuppa.

However, the National Grid control centre is predicting a boiling-kettle-driven pick up in power of between only 1200 and 1600 megawatts when the pair exchanges their vows in Westminster Abbey.

Power will, say National Grid, rise steadily throughout the morning, but as the televised coverage begins there will be an overall decrease in demand as millions of people watch television rather than pursuing their usual, more energy-intensive, activities.

Sudden surges in demand will come after viewers have watched specific moments in the ceremony such as Kate’s arrival and procession up the aisle, the couple’s vows and the moment they appear on the steps of Westminster Abbey as a married couple.

According to the National Grid after these significant moments, viewers will leave their television sets to switch their kettles on, and this activity will result in an increase in demand.

A spokesman said: “While public interest around William and Kate is greater than it has been around more recent royal events. “

“The forecasting team isn’t expecting the impact on demand to be as big as for Charles and Diana’s wedding, which belongs to a different era. “

“The entire forecasting team at National Grid is proud of the role they play in making sure families across the country can enjoy watching this special day.”

There is still likely to be more energy used than for lesser royals Edward and Sophie’s wedding, more recently in 1999, which saw just a 750 megawatt increase.

BuilderScrap sourced this article from Edie.

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

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.

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.

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!