You can save money by re-using materials and reducing the amount of waste you produce during construction and demolition.
Summary
According to joint figures from Defra, the Environment Agency and Water UK, in 2004 the UK produced 335 million tonnes of waste. Around 32 per cent of this was from the construction and demolition industry.
This figure includes excavated soil and miscellaneous materials as well as hard materials such as bricks, concrete and road planings. For a full breakdown please see the Defra website:
You can significantly reduce the amount of waste you produce by separating waste and re-using and recycling aggregates. Doing so can save you money.
Waste disposal is an increasingly expensive option because of the shortage of landfill sites and the increased taxes and regulations. In line with regional plans it is now becoming standard to treat waste close to its source, rather than transporting it for disposal.
Your responsibility
We make sure waste is managed safely through a system of permits and by monitoring compliance. Come and talk to us early in your planning process. Environmental permits, for example, can take several months to process, and planning consent needs to be in place. Some activities are exempt from environmental permitting but need to be registered with us and meet specific criteria.
You need to assess the likely types and quantities of waste that will be generated as soon as possible. This will help you to identify waste management sites and suitable haulage contractors (who must be registered waste carriers).
Your duty of care
As a waste producer you have a duty of care to ensure your waste is managed lawfully. When you transfer it to someone else you must make sure:
- You check the person can take it. Ask them to produce evidence that they are authorised to carry waste. If they can't do this do not give them your waste, contact the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506.
- Ensure the waste goes to a proper site, licensed or exempt.
- Give the person a transfer note. This must include a full description of the waste and be signed by both of you. The description must include details of anything present that could affect the future handling of the waste, such as asbestos, plasterboard or chemicals. Keep copies of your transfer notes for a minimum of two years.
- Ensure that from 28 September 2011 a declaration is signed on the transfer note to indicate that the waste management hierarchy of options has been applied.
If you transport building or demolition waste yourself, you must be registered as a waste carrier and you must make sure you transfer it only to an authorised site operator.
Management plan
A site waste management plan will help you identify your major impacts and liabilities. It will also help you plan in advance and benchmark your activities. The focus of the plan should be to reduce unnecessary use of resources. It should outline how you will segregate waste, optimise recycling options and identify how any hazardous wastes will be minimised and segregated for appropriate management. The Government has indicated that these plans are likely to become statutory for all projects over £200,000.
Your subcontractors also need to follow duty of care obligations. Include this as a requirement in their contracts, together with a request for them to use the facilities for segregating waste.
Understand the environmental and financial value of your soils on-site and protect them. They have a valuable role in landscaping, habitat creation, sustainable drainage and preventing pollution. You can create noise attenuation bunds which can also reduce unnecessary disposal costs. Avoid unnecessarily capping the soil. To reduce on-site and off-site movements, balance cut with fill where appropriate.
You should aim to conserve resources and energy through environmentally sound forward planning. You can improve your reputation and green credentials through benchmarking and accreditation under environmental management schemes.
You have a duty of care to make sure you legally dispose of any waste you produce. You could be fined thousands of pounds or even face a prison sentence if it is fly-tipped.
Reduce, re-use, recycle
Finally, whether your development is an office, housing or commercial premises, you should make space within it for waste to be stored and sorted. It is imperative we take steps to reduce and recycle our waste, and providing space for segregating and recycling waste will allow the people who live or work in your development to do the same.
