Developing a Strategic Approach to Construction Waste

Restricted – CommercialAEA/ ED02414/Issue 1Developing A Strategic Approach to Construction WasteOpportunitiesOne major point that came across was that the industry wants to see more “easy guides” written.Environmental managers are looking for guides, similar to site Health and Safety manuals. TheConstruction Publications arm of the Industry Training Board(ITB) are apparently designing such manuals. The industry is looking for more guidance on how tointerpret and comply with the legislations. One company suggested the EA follow the HSE approachand published ACOPs, and appoint a liaison office to each major company where they could discussproblems and come to an acceptable solution.None of the respondents were aware of any new legislations bar the two proposed in section 2 of thisreport.3.1.5 Question 3. Do any waste legislations have an advantage for therunning of your company?StrengthsSome legislation e.g. Landfill tax, have put a value on waste, hence making it a commodity andpromoting recycling by providing an infrastructure. The enforcement of legislation has meant siteshave to comply and some are finding it has brought an improvement in site practices and strategies.WeaknessesIncreasing legislations mean there has been a significant increase in company’s paperwork.OpportunitiesOne respondent believes construction hasn’t really seen a legislative push to waste minimization andmanagement, and hopes SWMPs will go some way to dealing with this problem.3.1.6 Question 3a. Have any legislations made working easier?StrengthsNumerous respondents feel it has been a struggle adapting to complying with current legislations,however they are starting to make working easier for the following reasons;• Companies are now able to justify rising costs to customers with legislative reasoning• They help to focus minds on cost to reduce waste and therefore reduce costs• Compliance has forced companies to implement their EMS much faster and driven improvementsin performance• Duty of care is easy to implement and ensures waste goes where it should• Improved environmental practices strengthen CSR and PR in annual reports• One company feels the Hazardous Waste regulations are a huge help as it makes their customerssegregate waste as they have been shown, making everyone’s job a lot easier, preventing potentialcross contamination of waste. They also often quote Duty of Care regulations to clients to forcecompliance as these are frequently used to prosecute people.WeaknessesIncreasing legislations mean companies have a lot more work to do in order to comply and they arefinding high costs of recycling frequently mean that it is cheaper to send waste to landfill than it is torecycle e.g. in rural areas. This is due to the costs associated with transporting the waste to therecycling point, with transport making up 70% of waste disposal costs. Landfill tax exemptions/creditsare seen as a benefit, however companies do find them very difficult to obtain.OpportunitiesOne company believe that industry needs to go beyond compliance with current legislation andbelieve one option is to bring in site waste management plans (as is currently being done), supported20 AEA Energy & Environment