NEWSROUND
Superglass loops in to circular economy
Superglass, the glass mineral wool insulation manufacturer, is officially joining pallet recovery, repair and reuse scheme, The Pallet LOOP.
From early April, Superglass’ cured glass mineral wool insulation products will start to be distributed on The Pallet LOOP’s distinctive green pallets, which are designed to be collected and put back into the building materials supply chain again and again. The Pallet LOOP also
Cemex UK opens new Surrey quarry
Cemex has secured the ongoing supply of aggregates to the London market by opening a new sand and gravel quarry in Shepperton, North Surrey. It is anticipated that around 1.2million tonnes will be excavated from this site over up to five years, with a further year to complete restoration of the land back to agricultural use. Wayne Strevens, Aggregates
Operations Manager for Cemex UK, commented: “The opening of this new quarry is crucial to ensure we can continue to supply the important London market. Sand and gravel reserves in this area are becoming harder and harder to secure.”
Construction activity flops in February
There was a steep decline in both housing and civil engineering activity during February, according to the latest S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index™. It was the fastest downturn in construction output since May 2020, with cost inflation accelerating to the highest since March 2023.
Total industry activity registered below the neutral 50.0 threshold for the second month in a row. Residential building (index at 39.3) fell for the fifth month in a row and was the weakest-performing area. Aside from the pandemic, the rate of decline was the fastest since early-2009. Survey respondents cited weak demand conditions, headwinds from elevated borrowing costs and a lack of new work to replace completed projects. Civil engineering activity (39.5) also registered a steep decline. Business activity expectations, meanwhile, remained positive overall in February, despite a steep decline in order books and concerns about a lack of new tender opportunities. Around 39% of survey respondents forecast an upturn in output during the year ahead, compared to 17% that forecast a decline. That said, there was a much lower degree of optimism than seen on average in 2024.
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incentivises returns with a PayBack of up to £4 on every green LOOP pallet collected for reuse.
Theresa McLean, Etex UK Insulation Leader, said: “Having the opportunity to reduce hundreds of tonnes of waste within our supply chain made joining The Pallet LOOP an easy decision for us. By partnering with The Pallet LOOP, we can, crucially, lower the amount of construction waste that goes to landfill.
“Schemes like The Pallet LOOP are vital for organisations like ours because they’re creating the kind of circular economy model that is urgently required to protect the planet, which is exactly what we’re committed to supporting as part of our
sustainability efforts here at Superglass.
“Joining The Pallet LOOP scheme is the perfect way for us to mark the start of 2025 as we continue to bolster our sustainability efforts throughout the year and beyond, while delivering excellent services to our customers across the UK.” Paul Lewis, Founder of The Pallet LOOP, said: “We are delighted to welcome Superglass to The Pallet LOOP. The company’s decision to start transporting their insulation products on our green reusable pallets provides further evidence that The Pallet LOOP is the right thing to do for the construction industry, and the planet.”
West Fraser fined for two health & safety incidents
Timber panel products supplier West Fraser (Europe) Ltd, formerly known as Norbord, has pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches related to two incidents that took place at its plant in Cowie within six months of each other in 2020. In the first event, Sean
Gallagher, 29, a Utility Operator, suffered serious injuries after his leg became entangled in moving parts at the bottom of a storage bunker in January 2020. In July of the same year, David McMillan, 39, a scaffolder, plunged more than 13 feet to the ground after a rusty plate gave way on a rooftop gantry. The company had already been fined more than £2million in 2022 after another employee died from suffering serious burns at the same plant. Stirling Sheriff Court heard that Gallagher had noticed a fault on a bunker at the company’s biomass plant. He initially entered the bunker to carry out an inspection, and did so in accordance with the company’s safe system of work procedure.
However, when he identified
further issues later into his shift, he entered the bunker again, but this time had not turned off the power. He became entangled in the machinery and was eventually taken to hospital, with injuries including compound fractures to his right leg.
The company has now installed a mesh guard across the bunker hatch, which can only be unlocked by the supervisor once the system has been isolated.
The second incident resulted in David McMillan suffering multiple fractures to his body, including his neck and ankle. He spent 20 days in hospital. The subsequent HSE
investigation found there was no maintenance schedule or system of checks for the gantry structure. Following the incident, the gantry was placed out of bounds before it was dismantled and removed from the site.
West Fraser was fined £28,000 for the first indent, and £1,040,000 for the second at Stirling Sheriff Court on February 17.
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net March 2025
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