I read with interest your piece “What’s missing is an understanding of what works and what doesn’t” (18 January, page 48).

As the article notes, in many areas, particularly climate change, there is a danger that the steady decline in available funding for “how to” guidance and research into new building designs could have a detrimental impact.

On this topic, “how to” is what Wrap is all about. Although Andrew Eastwell is correct in that we encourage the increased use of recycled content, our remit in fact extends much further than this. Alongside the promotion of sustainable procurement as a means of reducing the amount of materials ending up in the waste stream, we also focus on waste minimisation and the management of waste for greater recycling of materials. Our role, in a nutshell, is to support the construction sector in reducing its waste and using materials more efficiently so as to halve the amount of waste sent to landfill by 2012. As the article correctly states, it would be a tough challenge to achieve this aim through the use of recycled materials alone.

We have a strong portfolio of tried and tested tools and resources that provide the “how to” guidance that is potentially lacking in other areas of the industry, which enables clients, contractors and their supply chains to make less waste a reality.

Mike Watson, head of construction, WRAP

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