U.K. organization publishes guide to road recycling.

* The U.K.-based Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has published "Recycled Roads," a guide to increasing the use of recycled content and improving materials resource efficiency in highway maintenance and construction. The guide is endorsed by representative bodies working in the sector.

The guide outlines a model approach to procurement that allows requirements for re-used and recycled materials to be embedded in all highways contracts.

The model identifies three phases of the procurement process where local authorities can encourage the increased use of recycled materials. These are: the pre-planning phase, where strategic objectives and procurement policy are defined; the planning phase, where tender specifications are agreed; and the construction phase itself.

For each phase, the guide identifies key decision points and provides detailed information on practical steps that can be taken to drive the use of recycled content. Each of the steps is also illustrated with in-depth case studies of how the suggested actions have driven change in real contracts.

"The financial and environmental benefits of maximizing the use of recycled materials are well established," says Phil Wilson, WRAP's aggregates project manager. "For local authorities, recycling and efficient use of materials are increasingly important in meeting sustainability and Best Value objectives. The aim is to provide senior officers, highways budget-holders, procurement officers and highway engineers within local authorities, as well as their consultants and contractors, with practical advice on how to use the procurement process to maximize the use of recycled material in highways contracts."

Surveys of attendees at WRAP's first series of Recycled Roads workshops last year found that, while around half of all local authorities allow the use of recycled materials in highways projects, only about 10 percent of them actually set requirements that actively encourage contractors to maximize their use and seek associated cost savings.

Having identified the potential for many authorities to drive change through the procurement process, WRAP developed the "Recycled Roads" guide to procurement to help ensure that re-use and recycling of materials are key criteria in all highway work.

The guide is endorsed by 10 key sector organizations and was first made available during WRAP's second series of nationwide Recycled Roads workshops that demonstrated the financial and environmental benefits of the use of recycled materials in highway and street maintenance. These events took place during February and March this year and were attended by over 300 delegates.

The "Recycled Roads" toolkit is endorsed by the following organizations:

* County Surveyors Society 

* Institute of Highways and Transportation

* Local Government Association

* Public Private Partnership Program

* Constructing Excellence

* Local Government Task Force

* Institute of Highway Incorporated Engineers

* Institute of Civil Engineers

* Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland 

* Welsh Local Government Association

* The Association of Public Service Excellence

Copies of the guide can be obtained from www.wrap.org.uk/dprocurement.