Insulation waste put to good use

At Knauf Insulation, we are constantly looking for ways to reduce the amount of waste from manufacturing to zero by 2020. Until then, we are looking for innovative ideas to deal with manufacturing waste, as well as trying to help reduce waste insulation from construction sites. But it’s not always straight forwards when dealing with the latter. Often, waste insulation, such as off-cuts, is sent to landfill.

This is exactly what Building Surveyor and sustainable housing specialist at Home Style Green, Matthew Cutler-Welsh, spotted happening in skips outside construction sites in Auckland. Believing he could put waste insulation to good use, Matthew put an appeal on Facebook looking for a house in need of insulation. “I had a suspicion that there was probably more spare insulation and lots of houses that need insulating,” he said. Within 48 hours of launching the appeal, Matthew had a house that was in need of insulation and a willing off-cut partner in the form of Knauf Insulation.

“At our offices we had some Earthwool® glasswool off-cut material that had been used for demonstration purposes, testing and marketing. We were happy to provide this to Matthew’s project,” said Murray Durbin, Knauf Insulation’s General Manager in New Zealand. “Reusing cut-offs is a win-win for everyone and shows how a little imagination can go a long way in making a positive impact to other people’s lives.”

To complete Matthew’s project, two construction students from Auckland’s Unitec Institute of Technology volunteered to help him install the donated off-cuts in a 1920s house, which belongs to Accessible Properties, an organisation that specialises in social housing in New Zealand.

“Before we got there the house’s only insulation was a layer of dust and the corrugated steel roof,” said Matthew. “It’s scary to think how many other houses are like this in New Zealand.”

This New Zealand building, which is home to people with disabilities, is now warmer, healthier and more comfortable thanks to off-cuts of Knauf Insulation’s Earthwool glasswool and a little imagination from people like Matthew.