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Recycling 2025 – We want to extend our thanks to everyone who has played an active role in our recycling initiative throughout the past year. Now entering its third year, the programme continues to surprise us with the sheer range of practical, inventive, and community-focused uses that people find for the materials reclaimed from our rail and construction projects. What started as a straightforward effort to reduce waste has grown into something far more dynamic -something that shows real value for the people and organisations we work with across the region.

The growth has been remarkable. In many cases, materials are claimed within an hour of being made available. This is a credit not only to the popularity of the scheme, but also to the commitment shown by schools, charities, local groups, and organisations who have embraced the idea of reusing commercial-grade materials that would otherwise be destined for costly specialist recycling centres. By incorporating these materials into their own work, they avoid dipping into tight budgets, allowing funds to be directed toward education, care, and community development instead of procurement.

What stands out most is how often the smallest gestures deliver the greatest impact. Items considered everyday materials in our industry become valuable tools for learning in the hands of teachers, outdoor educators, or community volunteers. Timber, piping, cable drums, and offcuts – these are being used to teach children of all ages, whether in a classroom, a workshop, or outdoor settings such as Forest Schools. Practical learning tends to stick with students far longer than theory alone, and these materials give young people the chance to experiment, build, and understand the physical world in a hands-on way.

Beyond education, the initiative has supported several community farms, animal shelters, and wildlife projects across Kent, including areas close to our headquarters in Folkestone. Something as simple as spare fencing, decking, or structural timbers can make a world of difference when you’re trying to improve enclosures, build feeding stations, or create weather-proof shelters. These are improvements that might never have happened were it not for reclaimed materials.

A great deal of care goes into this process before the public ever sees the available stock. Materials removed from rail and construction projects – sometimes many miles away – are handled methodically. They’re stripped out safely, transported, stored, and sorted before returning to our yard for dispersal. Rail and construction tend to produce materials on a commercial scale, not the sort of thing someone could collect in the boot of a car. Managing this responsibly takes planning, but the payoff is clear when these items find second lives in projects that genuinely benefit from them.

One of the most encouraging outcomes has been the rising interest from colleges, training centres, and skills programmes. The next generation of construction operatives need exposure to real-world materials, including specialist components that aren’t normally part of their curriculum. By supplying them with these items, we help create more confident, better-prepared young workers who understand the nature of the materials they’ll encounter in the industry.

For anyone wanting to see the direct impact of the scheme, we encourage you to explore some of the case studies at the link here. They show exactly where materials have gone and the difference they’ve made:

Moving on from Recycling 2025  – If you’re interested in taking part in 2026 – whether by accessing recycled materials, requesting careers talk, or arranging a discussion about sustainability and responsible resource use – we’re always ready to talk. The door is open, the yard is active, and the initiative will only grow stronger as more people get involved. The more we do together, the more value we return to our communities and to the generations coming up behind us.

AW Group is a multi-disciplined construction company providing a broad range of support and manpower across building and rail projects.

Our Fields are:

AW Construction – We offer an outstanding UK-wide fit out service, taking care of everything from scheduling rollouts & ordering materials to assistance with design and onsite delivery

AW Rail – We use the very best labour force and a proactive approach to deliver first-class construction and maintenance projects across the rail industry

AW Labour – We provide a high-calibre blue collar and white-collar workforce with a diverse range of skills, to support the construction and rail industries