International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

lacking in Australia, Singapore and the Netherlands where WMPs are very poorly
monitored despite them being a mandatory requirement of the planning process. 774
In England, where WMPs are a legal requirement for projects estimated to cost more
then £300,000, the WMP does not have to be approved, just kept on site and made
available if requested. The only exception to this rule is when some local authorities
require the plan to be submitted as a Supplementary Planning Document. There is,
however, an incentive to comply because in cases of non-compliance those convicted
can receive fines of up to £50,000. A survey undertaken by NetRegs, 6 months after
WMPs were mandated, showed that 51.2% of construction businesses were still
unaware of this new policy requirement. 775
In Ontario, the Ministry of the Environment Enforcement Branch of Operations
Division, and Regional and District Offices, are responsible for visiting sites, checking
the plans and ensuring that the plan is being put into practise. In 2006 the Ministry of
the Environment undertook inspections which revealed 90% of Industrial /
Commercial / Institutional organisations were not complying with these regulations. It
is thought that the main reason for lack of compliance is because although it is
mandatory for a waste audit and waste reduction plan to be prepared it does not
have to be submitted. 776 The regulations require the documents to be made available
upon request therefore relying upon a self-regulatory approach. However, there is
currently no incentive for companies to comply since there is no sanction for cases of
non-compliance.
As part of the 2003 revision in Hong Kong, the issue of evasion was tackled by
increasing the enforcement of WMP implementation, increasing levels of site
monitoring and control. This included a requirement from the contractor to complete
and submit the WMP within 14 days of receiving acceptance of their tender for the
project. 777
43.12 Lessons Learned
Where the policy has been introduced using self-regulatory approaches, then uptake
will be lower than hoped for as long as there is no sanction in place if a case of noncompliance
is identified. England has introduced the policy in this way but due to the
774 AEA Technology (2007) International Approaches to Waste Prevention and Minimisation, Final
Report for Defra (BREW), Accessed 15 th October 2008,
http://www.crwplatform.co.uk/conwaste/assets/Publications/2006-7-Reports/International-
Approaches-to-Waste-Prevention-and-Minimisation.pdf
775 Construction News Portal (2009) Construction Business Still Unaware That SWMPs Are Mandatory
For Projects Over £300,000, Accessed 16 th January 2009,
http://www.constructionnewsportal.com/construction_article6511.html
776 B. Baetz and T. Saotome (2007) Development of Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling in
Ontario. Accessed 15 th October 2008,
http://msep.mcmaster.ca/publications/Development_of_C&D_recycling_in_Ontario.pdf
777 Environment, Transport and Works Bureau (2005) Technical Circular (Works) No.19/2005,
Accessed 20 th January 2009, http://www.devb-wb.gov.hk/UtilManager/tc/C-2005-19-0-1.pdf
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