University student start-up to slash construction waste

Sunday, 29 October 2023

When law student Jean-Luc Ellis started working on construction sites, he realised the industry approach to waste was a big problem, and he decided to do something about it.

But he found the need for change was recognised, and now the solution he came up with has won the country’s biggest start-up challenge.

Construction and demolition waste, including reusable materials, generally go straight into a skip, and then into landfill, he said.

“At first, I thought there was no way that could be the only way it is dealt with, but it turned out that is the primary way the industry deals with waste and excess materials.”

With construction waste making up about 50% of landfill, it was one of the biggest hurdles to the country’s 2050 net-zero emissions target, he said.

In Auckland alone, construction and demolition produce nearly 570,000 tonnes of waste a year, roughly half the entire landfill volume and equivalent to 23,155 shipping containers of rubbish.

That situation prompted Ellis, a University of Auckland student, to plan out ways to combat the problem.

His three-pronged solution involved implementation of proper on-site waste minimisation and separation procedures, industry education, and the development of software to track and report on data.

“All of this combines to drastically decrease embodied carbon in the construction industry, and will make construction more sustainable.

“Green Building Council research shows reducing waste and recycling helps towards getting Green and Home Star ratings, and that is the future for the industry.”

To put his solution to real-world use, he established WasteXpert, with friends, Max Lawton and Logan Soole, and the initiative won first place, and funding of $25,000, in this year’s Velocity $100k Challenge.

Ellis said construction waste was a nationwide and industry-wide problem, and it required an industry worth of support to tackle, and the win would help bring about the necessary change.

His team was already working with Unitec’s Dr Terri-Ann Berry, one of the leading academics in the field, and running a pilot programme with construction company, Keola.

But it would now be possible to improve their software, scale up their marketing, and set up more pilots to demonstrate how effective the initiative was, he said.

“Every construction site and project is different, so it is hard to estimate an average financial benefit. But if you have an eight-unit development, the waste would typically fill a skip a week.

“Whereas if soft plastic is separated out correctly, you might fill a one cubic metre bag with it over a couple of months.

“On the deconstruction side, there are lots of amazing materials that can be recycled for use by community groups, schools, and iwi.”

Taking this approach systematically had cost savings, and significantly reduced the amount of waste going into landfill, he said.

“The response has been great, as a lot of people are open to sustainability measures and are aware that waste is a huge problem.”

Ellis said the goal was to spread the word and get more sites on board, but he was confident clients would come naturally once the industry saw the results.

Long-term, we would like to see this systematic approach adopted by a majority of, if not all, construction companies in New Zealand, and we would love to expand overseas.

“But it would be good for more local recycling infrastructure to be developed, as the more there is the more companies we can get to do this properly, and it will really make an impact.”