Newton Waterproofing Systems have taken home the Innovation of the Year accolade from the National Building Awards.

Newton team members James and Richard went to Wembley Stadium for the evening and collected the award, which was in recognition of the Newton Membrane Recycling Service.

The award-winning recycling service has been in action now for over 2 years and is still the first and only such scheme in the UK waterproofing industry, made possible with the help of Newton’s Specialist Basement Contractors (NSBCs).

Newton’s drivers pick up waste HDPE membrane from NSBC sites and offices when delivering new product, preventing further carbon emissions. Once collected, the membrane is turned into pellets at Newton’s head office in Tonbridge, Kent, before being collected by a third-party recycling organisation and manufactured into new construction products. This achieves an entirely closed-loop recycling process.

Newton are very proud of their recycling service as it directly tackles an inherent problem in the waterproofing industry. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is used to manufacture one of the primary forms of below-ground structural waterproofing - cavity drainage membranes. However, every year thousands of tonnes of membrane off-cuts end up in landfill as they are too small for reuse in waterproofing. As the membrane is made from virgin HDPE though, it is perfect for recycling.

Last year, the Membrane Recycling Service recycled 5.275 tonnes of waste HDPE membrane. So far in 2019, Newton have succeeded in recycling 2,148 tonnes so far. With 7 more months of the year to go, Newton believe they will be able to prevent well over 5 tonnes of HDPE from going to landfill. To translate this into more quantifiable numbers, that’s 9,646.85 kWH of energy saved so far in 2019, which is enough energy to make 342,999 mugs of tea!

Newton continue to be excited at the progress of the Recycling Service, especially as they search for new ways to lower their carbon footprint and decrease their impact on the environment.