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Hambleside Danelaw’s rooflights feature in BeAware research project to reduce waste and improve efficiency
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As a manufacturer of plastic building products, Hambleside Danelaw is studying the resource efficiency of their glass reinforced plastic (GRP) rooflights through the BRE’s BeAware research project.
The Group is dedicated to continually improving its performance with regard to resource efficiency and the project has greatly assisted with this aim.
The two main improvements being developed are the end of life issues for GRP and the incorporation of GRP waste back into new products.
GRP is currently not recycled in the UK even though the technology exists. Hambleside Danelaw is the first company in the UK to purchase recycling equipment for GRP to use on a commercial scale.
With help from NetComposites, a source of end-of-life GRP has been collected and processed by Hambleside using the new equipment. The University of Loughborough is now conducting waste characterisation studies on the recyclate to determine the best end uses for the material.
Commenting on the project, Robin Jeffery, Hambleside Danelaw’s vice chairman, said: “Hambleside’s commitment to sustainability through the careful design and selection of raw materials for its products to ensure an extended service life, coupled with the recycling of production waste, results in the continued reusability of the original fossil based material. This commitment has been achieved after a detailed review of production methodology, technological advancement of its products including extending the service life expectancy of its product range, to seek to ensure that they had a long life cycle, reducing the need for product replacement.”
