Draft Business Waste Strategy PDF - london.gov.uk - Greater ...

Making waste work in London The Mayor’s Draft Business Waste Management Strategy Mayor of London 85
■ provide pre-demolition audits for selected sites.
Source: Construction Resource Efficiency (SmartWaste)
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4.35 The construction sector often over-specifies materials by as much as
14 per cent, amounting to approximately 13 million tonnes of wasted
materials each year 191 . In addition to generating waste, this is a wholly
avoidable cost to the developer. The lost value of wasted materials and
the cost of waste disposal are a double economic loss for the sector.
The increasing costs of landfill, of raw materials (partly as a result of
the Aggregates Levy) and of transportation provide real economic
incentives for waste prevention through more accurate specification
and reuse or sale of leftover materials, for example through material
exchange programmes.
4.36 Waste can be prevented in construction projects by:
■ ordering the correct amount of materials at the right time, rather
than over-specifying
■ ensuring material storage areas are safe, secure and weatherproof
to prevent damage and theft
■ setting up agreements with suppliers to take back surplus materials.
4.37 Refurbishing buildings (i.e. keeping the existing shell of the building),
rather than redeveloping them (i.e. knocking the building down and
putting up a new building) may also prevent waste. The Mayor’s
essential standard, set out in his Sustainable Design and Construction
Supplementary Planning Guidance 192 , published in May 2006 to support
the London Plan, is that existing building will be reused where
practicable 193 . However, when other environmental objectives are taken
into account it is possible redevelopment will be more sustainable overall.
Full consideration of the benefits of redevelopment over refurbishment
should be given at the planning stage and carrying out a pre-demolition
audit can be useful prior to refurbishment or redevelopment to identify
recovery options for existing materials and products.
4.38 Eighty-five per cent (by weight) of the 7.2 million tonnes of construction,
demolition and excavation waste produced in London in 2003 was reused
or recycled, while the rest was landfilled 194 . This high reuse and recycling
rate suggests effective practices in the sector. However, the majority of
reuse and recycling involves crushing concrete and reusing demolition
spoil as bulk fill. This does not make the best use of construction
materials. If buildings were ‘deconstructed’ rather than demolished