Turning Waste into Worth: Masons’ Commitment to Circular Construction

Case Study

June 5th, 2025

With support from the Environmental Innovation Centre and a recycling partnership with Plastics Recycling New Zealand, we’ve diverted over 13 tonnes of uPVC from landfill, providing material for the production of Marley pipes.

As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability, Masons has partnered with the Environmental Innovation Centre to take meaningful steps toward a more circular future. With their expertise, we’re developing practical, evidence-based solutions to reduce construction waste and support circular economy principles across our operations.

Two years ago, Masons acquired a company that brought with it a significant volume of legacy stock. While part of it no longer aligned with our current product offering or market demand, we saw an opportunity to handle this surplus responsibly and sustainably.

“We knew the material was still valuable, so finding a sustainable way to repurpose it was a priority.” explains Graham Cater, Masons Operational Manager.

By partnering with Plastics Recycling New Zealand (a joint venture between Waste Management New Zealand and Aliaxis/Marley, with a new facility partly funded by the MfE’s Waste Minimisation Fund), we successfully upcycled 13.2 tonnes of this product. 5.9 tonnes were collected from our Auckland warehouse, and 7.3 tonnes from Christchurch.

The uPVC waste was transported to a processing facility where it was shredded into chips by Plastics Recycling New Zealand, then delivered to Marley to be transformed into Marley pipes. Marley’s expertise and commitment to innovation in sustainable manufacturing played a key role in giving this material a second life.

“This partnership demonstrates how manufacturers can take real ownership of their product lifecycle,” says Graham. “We’re proud to support industry leaders like Marley to find smarter ways to manage waste and keep valuable materials in circulation, and we’re thankful for the support from Environmental Innovation Centre, Plastics Recycling New Zealand and the Waste Minimisation Fund (MfE) to enable this to happen.”

As we mark World Environment Day on June 5th, we’re proud to be taking real, measurable action toward a more sustainable future. This initiative is just the beginning—stay tuned as we continue to find ways to reduce, reuse, and rethink our impact.

View the stages of the process below