Site Waste Management Plan

Site waste management plans

In 2004 the DTI Site Waste Management Plan voluntary code of practice was introduced. This was the voluntary precursor to the Site Waste Management Plan Regulations 2008. Following the introduction of the 2008 regulations, site waste management plans were no longer voluntary - they became a legal requirement for businesses working on a project valued at £300,000 or more. However, on 2 December 2013 the UK government repealed the Site Waste Management Plan Regulations 2008. As things currently stand, creating a site waste management plan is considered best practice for businesses in the construction industry. It is, however, no longer a legal requirement.

What is a site waste management plan?

Site waste management plans apply to all aspects of construction work. This includes preparatory work such as demolition and excavations and also includes engineering and civil engineering projects involving existing structures.

Effectively, a site waste management plan is an estimate of the types and quantities of waste which will be produced during a project. It works as a record of the waste which is removed from site.

Following a site waste management plan makes it much easier for a construction firm to ensure that it is dealing with all the waste is creates efficiently and legally. While enforcing a site management plan is no longer a legal requirement, ensuring that waste is disposed of in line with Duty of Care regulations is. On a construction site, it is easy to mix waste types which should be separated and end up disposing of certain waste types illegally.

Working to a site waste management plan helps tackle this problem as waste types and quantities are estimated before hand. This means construction firms know what type of waste they are expecting to produce and can put in place measures to ensure that those waste types are efficiently and effectively separated in accordance with UK law.

What is the purpose of a Site Waste Management Plan?

The purpose of a site waste management plan is to make it easier for construction workers to dispose of construction site waste legally and efficiently. In general, the purpose of a site waste management plan can be broken down into three key aims. These are:

Improving sustainability and efficiency - through the use of a site waste management plan, construction workers can work to clear waste disposal objectives. Knowing what types of waste are expected to be produced, workers can ensure these waste types are separately stored. This means that these separate waste types can be recycled easily. In this way, site waste management plans promote the reuse and recovery of material over disposal, therefore reducing volumes of waste and increasing sustainability.

Big Green can provide you with the site waste management plans you need to ensure that you dispose of your construction site waste is disposed of legally and responsibly. Our expert teams can provide you with the guidance and services you need, so just call us today for a free no-obligation quote on our services.