Are site waste management plans a help or hindrance to construction best practice and minimising waste?

If you've never thought about your construction waste, then think again. CEW confidently predicts that the consultation on the Welsh Government’s policy regarding Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) will be live in the New Year. Whilst they have not been compulsory in Wales, organisations that have applied the idea of a site waste management plan have seen some significant benefits in terms time, money, minimising waste, cutting out landfill and improving of carbon footprint.

So, when the consultation process starts after Christmas make sure you check the facts before reaching any conclusions. Some of the biggest projects in Wales have embraced the idea of SWMPs already and have seen some excellent results. Newport High School, which won the CEW 2009 Waste Minimisation Award, adopted SWMP as one of the first steps in its waste strategy.

The Leadbitter team reviewed the plan on a monthly basis and it soon helped to manage and reduce the amount of waste produced by the construction of the new school. Of the 24,607 cubic metres of waste created, over 24,000 cubic metres was reused and only 67.8 cubic metres went to landfill. That’s a diversion of 24,500 cubic metres or approximately 37,000 tonnes from landfill and a cost saving in skip hire alone of more than £900,000.

Since 2010 the same team applied the lessons learned on subsequent schools at Llanwern High School and now the Gateway to the Valleys School and is seeing even better results. We know that organisations like Carillion, Costain and many others have all made similar gains – saving materials and money as well as diverting waste away from landfill sites.

To find out more details about how SWMPs can save your projects time and money, do contact us.