Balfour Beatty starts work to recycle Manchester tower block

Balfour Beatty has started work to recycle the last tower block on the West Gorton residential estate in Manchester, fifty years after it was originally built.

The work is part of a demolition project that will see a 100% recycling rate of non-hazardous materials from the sixty-four home Armitage Court and Wenlock Court block.

It is the second phase of a regeneration programme in West Gorton to redevelop a high-rise residential development built in the 1960s. The tower blocks are being replaced with improved residential housing.

The project is being carried out to high sustainability standards with the concrete from the building being crushed and re-used in road and sewer developments, timber being sent to a factory for use in making MDF products and all soft furnishings, including carpets and curtains, taken to a local recycling facility where they will be recycled into pellets. These pellets will then be sent to power stations, where they will be used to produce energy.

Peter Commins, Balfour Beatty North West Delivery Unit Managing Director, said: “This project builds on our extensive experience of regeneration and demolition projects.

"Balfour Beatty strives to deliver projects which have minimal impact on the environment and I am pleased we will achieve a 100% recycling rate at West Gorton. We are committed to working with Manchester City Council to support their regeneration programme.”

Demolition commenced in December 2013 and the blocks will be demolished by the end of April, with the site cleared by the summer.