Site waste management plan SWMP
The Site Waste Management Plans Regulations placed obligations on the client (other than domestic clients) and the principal contractor for any construction project with an estimated cost of more than £300,000 (the price agreed in the accepted tender, i.e. excluding VAT and consultant fees, see Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Non-statutory guidance for site waste management plans P5).
This included maintenance and alteration works. More detail was required for projects with an estimated cost of more than £500,000. Whilst the regulations were not related to the CDM regulations, they did draw on the same terminology, allocating roles to the client and principal contractor.
However, following a comprehensive government review of 21,000 regulations on different themes, Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP) are no longer compulsory for construction projects in England (from 1 December 2013). (Ref .The Environmental Noise, Site Waste Management Plans and Spreadable Fats etc. (Revocations and Amendments) Regulations 2013.)
They may still be required for BREEAM assessments or by the local planning authority, and may be considered an environmentally responsible initiative by the main contractor or by the client.
The UK construction industry is the largest consumer of resources, requiring more than 400 million tonnes of material a year (ref. Davis Langdon). 32% of landfill waste comes from the construction and demolition of buildings and 13% of products delivered to construction sites are sent directly to landfill without being used (ref. Technology Strategy Board).
A site waste management plan (SWMP) should initially be prepared by the client before construction begins, although they may commission a member of the consultant team to do this on their behalf. It should describe how materials will be managed efficiently and disposed of legally during the construction of the works, explaining how the re-use and recycling of materials will be maximised.
This involves estimating how much of each type of waste is likely to be produced and the proportion of this that will be re-used or recycled on site, or removed from the site for re-use, recycling, recovery or disposal.
It is the joint responsibility of the client and the principal contractor to ensure that a site waste management plan is in place before construction begins and to ensure that it is enforced.
The principal contractor should:
- Ensure that the requirements of the site waste management plan are included in sub-contracts.
- Arrange suitable site induction, information and training of personnel to ensure that the plan is implemented.
- Take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised disposal of the waste by others.
- Update the plan as the works progress to reflect the actual handling of waste.
- At the end of the project (within 3 months) reconcile the planned handling of waste against what actually happened and provide an explanation of any differences.
For large projects (with an estimated cost of more than £500,000), the principal contractor should record in detail how each consignment of waste is handled and who by (see Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Non-statutory guidance for site waste management plans P12) and to prepare an estimate of the cost savings achieved through implementation of the site waste management plan.
There is no formal notification or approval process for site waste management plans, however the local authority may require submission of site waste management plans as part of the planning process.
A site waste management plan template is provided in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Non-statutory guidance for site waste management plans Annex A.
A site waste management plan template is also available from WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) along with guidance for clients, designers and contractors.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Achieve safety in demolition.
- Biodegradable
- BREEAM Construction waste management.
- BREEAM Operational waste.
- BRE SMARTwaste.
- Circular economy.
- Code of construction practice.
- Construction skip.
- Construction waste.
- Definition of waste: Code of practice.
- Fly-tipping.
- Hazardous waste management plan.
- How to conduct a pre-demolition audit.
- Landfill.
- Landfill tax.
- Materials Management Plan (MMP).
- Miasma theory.
- National Federation of Demolition Contractors NFDC.
- ReCon Soil project.
- Recyclable construction materials.
- Recycling.
- Site Waste Management Plans - A Necessary Burden.
- Waste management plan for England.
- Waste management process.
[edit] External references
- CECA: Waste Classification & Permitting In Construction. February 2018. Free download
- BRE: SMARTWaste tool.
- The Environmental Noise, Site Waste Management Plans and Spreadable Fats etc. (Revocations and Amendments) Regulations 2013.
- The regulations in full.
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Site waste management plans (SWMPs) – Q&A, June 2008.
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Non-statutory guidance for site waste management plans.
- WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme).
- Share
- Follow
- YouTube
- Newsletter
About the wiki
Anyone is welcome to use and contribute to the wiki in different ways.
[edit] Engaging with the wiki
You can:
- Contribute to existing articles
- Create articles
- Share articles through social media and other channels
- Contact the CIRCuIT project to let us know what you think and how we can improve
[edit] Add your own content
To contribute to or create an article, you can follow these steps:
- Register as a user
- Read through the editorial policy and guidance on writing and contributing to articles
- See the detailed help page on tips on writing wiki articles
- Try editing a test article
- If editing an article, select 'Edit this article' underneath the article title
- If creating a new article, select 'Create an article'. In the 'Select categories' area, expand the 'Industry context' list and tag 'Circular economy' to add your article to this wiki
[edit] Who is this wiki for?
The articles contain information on implementing circular economy approaches in construction that could be relevant to:
- Architects
- Construction contractors
- Designers
- Developers, owners, investors
- Engineers
- Landowners
- Manufacturers and supplier
- Universities and research
- Urban planners
[edit] About CIRCuIT
The Circular Economy wiki is supported by the Circular Construction in Regenerative Cities (CIRCuIT) project, which is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. CIRCuIT is a collaborative project involving 31 ambitious partners across the entire built environment chain in Copenhagen, Hamburg, Helsinki Region and Greater London. Through a series of demonstrations, case studies, events and dissemination activities, the project will showcase how circular construction practices can be scaled and replicated across Europe to enable sustainable building in cities and the transition to a circular economy on a wider scale.
Comments