On Monday, February 9, 2026, GAP Group North East, a North East-founded recycler, announced the launch of a UK-wide insulation panel recycling service. This initiative aims to address one of the construction industry’s most overlooked environmental issues – the disposal of insulation at the end of its life. According to national targets, the construction sector is responsible for approximately 62% of all waste generated in the UK, with about one-third of it ending up in landfills.
Insulation plays a crucial role in reducing operational carbon in buildings. However, once it is removed from a roof, facade, or cold store, it is often treated as disposable. This results in composite and foam-cored panels being sent to mixed skips, then to landfills, shredding or low-grade incineration routes. As a result, these panels can persist for centuries, releasing fragments into microplastics or releasing trapped blowing agents, harmful gases, and other pollutants.
GAP Group North East’s new service offers contractors and facilities managers a compliant, direct-to-processor route for end-of-life insulation panels. This helps divert complex materials away from landfills and uncontrolled disposal. The panels collected from projects across the UK are processed through GAP Group’s specialist fridge-recycling lines in Gateshead and Perth. This enables the separation of metal skins and insulation cores, removal of gases, and recovery of recyclable fractions. Hazardous components are also handled under strict environmental controls.
The environmental consequences of improper disposal of insulation panels are significant. Older panels, especially legacy cold-room and composite units, may contain foams blown with ozone-depleting substances or high-global-warming-potential gases. Regulations state that these gases must be captured and treated, rather than simply released during shredding, burning, or uncontrolled disposal. Additionally, plastic-foam cores such as EPS and other petrochemical-based materials do not biodegrade and can break down into persistent microplastics, contributing to the plastic pollution crisis.
Peter Moody, CEO at GAP Group North East, stated, “Insulation has played a crucial role in cutting energy use in buildings. However, if we dispose of these panels at the end of their life, we are only swapping one environmental problem for another.” He added, “By processing insulated panels through the same highly regulated lines that we use for fridges, we can recover metals, control and capture blowing agents, and prevent these materials from ending up as uncontrolled pollution or long-term landfill burdens. This means a tangible reduction in embodied carbon and environmental risk for our customers’ projects.”
By routing waste panels through its established plants, GAP Group North East can achieve the following:
– Separate and recycle metal facings, reducing the need for virgin metal production and cutting associated carbon emissions.
– Treat foam cores and blowing agents in line with ozone-depleting substance and climate regulations, rather than allowing gases to escape during demolition, burning or landfill.
– Provide a clear audit trail, allowing contractors to demonstrate responsible management of one of their more complex waste streams and showcase progress against ESG and net-zero commitments.
The new insulation panel service is part of GAP Group’s wider multi-stream offer, which includes fridges, small WEEE, vapes, batteries, displays, and more. This enables construction and FM customers to consolidate difficult, compliance-sensitive waste streams with a single national recycler. As the sector faces pressure to reduce waste to landfill from 13% of total arisings to a target of 1%, services that facilitate higher-value recovery from “forgotten” fractions such as insulation panels are becoming essential for credible sustainability strategies.
About GAP Group North East
GAP Group North East is a direct-to-processor specialist recycler that handles a wide range of electrical and specialist waste streams, including fridges, small WEEE, vapes, batteries, lighting, cables, and insulation panels. Founded in the North East of England, the company operates UK-wide, with processing facilities in Gateshead and Perth. It offers fast, compliant national collections, detailed reporting, and strong ESG support for business customers.
