The third Enabling Zero Waste project for WRW construction is progressing well at Angle Peninsula Primary School in Pembrokeshire. The project has involved the construction of a new-build primary school, whilst working towards the aims of the Enabling Zero Waste Initiative.

WRW commenced works in October 2016 with completion expected, in readiness for occupation, in January 2018.

Several best practice waste management initiatives have been implemented at the site, including; 

• Canteen waste segregation and collections
• A strong emphasis on reuse practices including plywood, timbers and soils
• Take back schemes
• Waste segregation at source and;
• An underordering strategy

As a result, minimal quantities of waste have been produced during the build. The overordering of materials is often a frequent issue within the construction industry. The strategy used at Angle Peninsula Primary School ensures that materials needed for the project are ordered in smaller quantities and are constantly monitored and reassessed to ensure that only the correct amounts are purchased. If there are any overordered items, these are either sent back to suppliers, used on other WRW projects or sent to WRW central stores.

As part of CEW’s Enabling Zero Waste initiative, each project is provided with a bespoke and tailored package of assistance, to best promote and adopt the zero waste practices necessary in the Welsh construction industry to achieve the targets and goals of the Welsh Government’s waste strategy document Towards Zero Waste. For more information please visit www.cewales.org.uk/enablingzerowaste, follow @EZWaste_wales or call 02920 493322 to speak to a member of the team.

Public Health Wales – ‘Our Space Programme’ – CEW Award Winners. What does that mean to you? Come along to our event on 18 September at 8.30am to find out what makes a winner of the value category at the CEW Awards 2017.

In 2016, Public Health Wales NHS Trust relocated 550+ professional, technical and administrative staff from nine offices in South East Wales to a new build in a regeneration zone in Cardiff.  This project has raised the bar for public sector building refurbishment projects.  

It has demonstrated that by working differently with smaller, local businesses – including social enterprise – high quality results can be achieved.  It shows that existing procurement processes can work if effort is applied and it provides a large scale visual reminder of what ordinary folk can achieve! 

Visitors to the building who see the results and hear the story are blown away and are sufficiently ‘infected’ to apply this locally. This blend of storytelling with numbers could be rolled out further and it is now your opportunity to view the premises and hear all about the project from the team who were this year’s Value category winners at the CEW Awards. 

How to book: Please email CEWales Events stating your full details - substitution of delegates can be made at any time. 

There will be a non-attendance fee of £20 unless you have informed us prior to the date.

Only two weeks left to apply for the Sustain Wales Awards and the team has put together a helpful guide to how to get the entry in on time - with a chance of winning!

With only two weeks left to apply for the Awards, we've put together a few words of encouragement and advice from one of our judges to help you create that Award-winning entry.

As always we are looking for outstanding individuals, projects or initiatives that are helping to deliver the seven national goals of the Well-being of Future Generations Act but more importantly, are contributing to the environmental, social, cultural and economic sustainability of life in Wales. 

Our 2016 winners had some truly inspirational stories to tell with applications coming in lots of different shapes and sizes. From Halen Môn's approach to resource reduction and biodiversity enhancement to the collaborative 'Healthy Hillsides' project, tackling wildfires in the South Wales Valleys to Dŵr Cymru's ambition to reduce it's carbon emissions through initiatives like Rainscape.

Top tips on writing a winning application 

Cynnal Cymru Sustainability Consultant and judge, Rhodri Thomas, shares some of his top tops when writing your application:

Tell us what you have you changed as a result of your actions. What has made a real difference to your organisation, environment or your community.

Provide facts and figures to back up your application. This can include financial savings or carbon cutting. If it's a visual change, consider including before and after photos that help demonstrate how something has improved.

Remember to include the big and the little things as well as the high impact achievements make sure you capture the smaller things that have had a positive effect. Also try to include the surprising or unintended results that have made a difference.

Keep your answers concise and to the point - the judges have hundreds of entries to read so keep it simple and focus on the highlighting the key achievements of the project to really grab the judges' attention. Try to use plain English, avoiding specialist jargon or over technical descriptions.

Sustainability is all about long-term thinking, so your submission can be part of a much bigger project. The key criteria is that your project has reached a significant milestone which has already created change.

Always keep in mind the Five Ways of Working outlined in the Application Guidance pack.

Wales’ impressive recycling performance shows no sign of diminishing as latest figures reveal Welsh Government’s Natural Resources Bulletin we now recycle, reuse or compost 64% of our waste, up from the previous year’s rate of 60%.

Provisional data for the 12 months ending March 2017 released last month shows: 

• The reuse/recycling/composting rate increased to 64%, compared with 60% for the 12 months to the end of March 2016
• The total amount of municipal waste generated in Wales in January – March 2017 decreased with the tonnage falling by 6%, from 400 to 375 thousand tonnes, compared to the same quarter of 2016
• The residual household waste generated per person decreased by 4%, falling to 48 kilograms per person in January to March 2017, compared with the same quarter of 2016.

The Welsh Government has set statutory targets of recycling 58% by 2016-17, 64% by 2019-20 and 70% of waste by 2024-25.  The latest data shows all but one local authority met the current 2016-17 target. Although Blaenau Gwent just missed the 58% target, its 57% rate was an increase on the 49% seen a year earlier.

The Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths welcomed the publication of the data. She said:

“These latest recycling figures make for extremely satisfying reading. They reveal the waste we are generating is decreasing while the amount we recycle continues to rise.

“We should be extremely proud of our recycling performance here in Wales. This is an area where we lead the way in the UK and indeed just two countries in the whole world recycle now more than we do.  

“We are always looking at how we can continue to improve. Only last week I announced I intend to consult on plans to halve food waste by 2025. I am confident this is achievable thanks to the continued efforts of Local Authorities and householders’ commitment to recycling. Today’s figures prove they clearly share our ambition for Wales to become a zero waste nation by 2050”.

Resolve Consultancy Services is sponsoring a fundraising golf day and dinner dance in aid of Maggie’s Centres. 

Maggie's Swansea provides free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer and their family and friends.

The Maggie’s concept began when in 1993, Maggie Keswick Jencks was told that her breast cancer had returned and was given two to three months to live.

She joined an advanced chemotherapy trial and lived for another 18 months. During that time, she and her husband Charles Jencks worked closely with her medical team, which included oncology nurse, Laura Lee, now Maggie’s Chief Executive, to develop a new approach to cancer care.

To live more positively with cancer, Maggie and Charles believed you needed information that would allow you to be an informed participant in your medical treatment, stress-reducing strategies, psychological support and the opportunity to meet other people in similar circumstances in a relaxed domestic atmosphere.

Maggie was determined that people should not “lose the joy of living in the fear of dying” and the day before she died in June 1995, she sat in her garden, face to the sun and said: “Aren’t we lucky?”

In November 1996, the first Maggie’s Centre opened in Edinburgh and what Maggie had planned became real. Now, there are centres across the UK and Wales too. Every year, over 300,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in the UK, facing tough questions, exhausting treatment and difficult emotions. These challenges affect not only those with cancer, but their family and friends. Maggie’s is there for anyone and everyone affected by cancer, offering a programme of support that has been shown to strengthen physical and emotional wellbeing.

They are well worth supporting. So, sign up for the golf on Friday 13 October 2017, 8:30am-1pm, Gower Golf, Cefn Goleu, Three Crosses, Swansea, SA4 3HS.

Then stay on for the Bucks Fizz and Canapes for 7.30pm, Dinner for 8.00pm - Smart Dress - Charity Auction and unique prize draw - Live Music, Disco and dancing til late - Carriages at 12.30am. Tickets: £40pp or £380 table of 10.

For further information contact Rod Keeble at rod@resolveconsultancyservices.co.uk or Liz Keeble on 07765 678226.

The Chartered Association of Building Engineers Wales is presenting its conference, along with an exhibition, on 12th September at the University of South Wales, starting at 8.30am.

CABE Wales Region is proud to present a comprehensive CPD programme with exhibition.

08.30 CABE Wales Regional Exhibition Open. Refreshments Coffee/Tea and Buffet Lunch

09.30 Welcome and Housekeeping

09.35 President's welcome and CABE Introduction - David Taylor BA(Hons) C.Build E PCABE FCABE MCIAT FIPWS MSPE – President, The Chartered Association of Building Engineers

09.40 Morning Keynote, Where is Quality Going? - David Taylor BA(Hons) C.Build E PCABE FCABE MCIAT FIPWS MSPE – President, The Chartered Association of Building Engineers

10.25 Construction Wales Innovation Centre - Gerald Naylor – Director, Construction Wales Innovation Centre

11.10 Refreshment Break

11.40 Helping Users Get it Right - Paul Letch - Thermoguard

12.10 Construction Excellence in Wales - Gordon Brown MCIOB - Director, Construction Excellence in Wales

12.55 Wastewater Treatment - Why? - Colm Gribben - Consultant Engineer, Viltra

13.30 Buffet Lunch and Exhibition

14.30 Innovation in Housing for Wales - Dr. Ed Green - Lecturer, Cardiff University

15.15 Housing Associations and their Contribution to High Quality New Homes in Wales - Clarissa Corbisiero-Peters - Director of Policy/Deputy Chief Executive, Community Housing, Cymru

16.30 Event Closes 

Cost: £49+VAT per person but if you book four delegate places, you only pay for three. Just enter code 4for3 at the checkout to take advantage of this offer. Find out more from Kirri Porter-White: kirri.porter-white@cbuilde.com 

The venue will be University of South Wales, Treforest, Pontypridd Campus CF37 1DL with free car parking on site in the visitors car park, located opposite the main campus. 

A membership clinic will be held on the day to answer any questions on new membership or upgrades and you are invited to attend the presentation to find out more about CABE Membership. Membership opportunities are available for those starting out in their career through to experienced professionals.

CABE Membership benefits include assisting you in achieving the globally recognised qualification of Chartered Building

• Engineer
• Increasing your professional recognition and trust
• Giving the potential for increased earnings and career promotion
• Entitling you to a host of benefits that add value to your professional and personal life
• Giving access to a range of online and offline networking events both regionally and nationally. Join the session to learn about:
• How to become a CABE member
• How CABE membership will benefit you
• What grade you are eligible for
• What entry process is right for you

CABE also invites Chartered Members and Chartered Fellows to apply for Chartered Environmentalist status.