| 2009 | 2008 | |
| Waste recovered as raw materials and fuels for cement manufacture | 1.28m tonnes | 1.42m tonnes |
Making the most efficient use of all resources is an objective for the sector and an issue of increasing significance for customers and clients. The use of recycled and secondary materials in the aggregates sector has increased to an estimated market share of 28 per cent compared with ten per cent 20 years ago. The volume of supply has fallen as construction and aggregates markets have declined in the recession - less development means less demolition and a reduced supply of hard construction and demolition waste for recycling.
The industry has continued to work on the development of waste protocols with WRAP and the Environment Agency to ensure that materials are not prevented from being used in construction markets as an unintended consequence of waste regulations.
The cement industry has a strong record in this area and uses 25 times more waste than it generates, 1.2 million tonnes compared with 45,549 tonnes. The increasing use of biomass and waste derived fuels continues to provide substantial markets for waste materials, and in 2009 accounted for 35 per cent of all cement kiln fuels burned.