SWMPs And The Supply Chain

Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) are now a legal requirement when tendering for projects over £300,000, from housing developments to road-building. But its effect on the aggregate supply chain into the construction sector, and its implication for both primary aggregate use and wider recycled material use is yet to be established. In this article BRE consultant Lara Ayris gives an overview of the new regime and concludes by considering the potential impacts on aggregates suppliers and recyclers.

Over the past ten years the construction related industries have witnessed a variety of new legislation and guidance. This includes the implementation of the landfill directive, the hazardous waste directive, the aggregates levy, duty of care requirements and more recently in 2007, the Defra Waste Strategy for England.

This strategy included making construction a ‘priority sector’ and an annex on construction waste with one of the proposed targets to reduce construction, demolition and excavation waste to landfill by 50% by 2012 – and by 100% by 2020. It will certainly be a challenge for the industry.

Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) came into force on 6 April this year and can be defined as a structure for systematic waste management at all stages of a project’s delivery and a framework for encouraging waste minimisation and resource efficiency.

The SWMP regulations have two main aims, firstly to reduce fly-tipping and secondly to minimise waste and improve material efficiency.

Last year local authorities in England reported that they had dealt with over 2.6million incidents of fly-tipping. The cost to taxpayers is over £75million a year and a significant percentage of fly-tipping is construction and demolition waste.

The second aim of minimising waste and improving material efficiency is down to the amount of waste the construction industry produces.

Each year in England and Wales over 400million tonnes of material are used in the construction sector and at least 109million tonnes of waste are produced.

SWMPs will be a requirement for all construction sites costing over £300,000 and for projects costing over £500,000 a more detailed plan will be required. The definition of construction is wide and includes work such as road building (see box left for more on this).

They used to be a voluntary undertaking before they became mandatory. In 2004, the DTI (now BERR) published a voluntary code of practice on implementing SWMPs, and the guidance included a checklist on what a SWMP should include.

The Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005 included the provision to legislate for SWMPs.

During April last year the consultation for SWMPs was launched for three months. It outlined the detailed proposals and draft regulations.

A number of workshops were held to encourage feedback and comments from sector representatives and local authorities.

Defra received 151 responses, 32% of these were from local authorities, 30% were directly from the construction industry and 3% represented the waste industry.

The results indicated that 75% supported the introduction of mandatory SWMPs and 85% believed this could improve resource efficiency on site. Concerns included: the proposed threshold for the SWMP, which was originally £250,000, and whether that threshold would encourage projects to be split at the planning stage to ensure the value is not met, meaning a SWMP would not be required – this latter point has yet to be tested.

Numerous case studies have demonstrated the benefits of implementing a SWMP. Through correct implementation SWMPs can help the site manage risks relating to waste and materials on site and help deal with enquiries from regulators on other legal requirements such as duty of care. They can also help the company meet standards of environmental systems such as ISO14001 and the Code for Sustainable Homes and produce financial savings.

SWMPs are expected to save the construction industry money by improving resource efficiency, reducing waste disposal costs and reducing material costs.

An example of this can be seen in the refurbishment of Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, London. Here, a pre-demolition audit was undertaken to identify what reuse and recycling opportunities there were for the existing buildings.

They identified between £0.5million and £7million of key demolition products and realised savings in landfill tax of £34,000.

But in case the positives of cost savings are not enough, the Government has included the negatives of fines. Responsibility of the SWMP either lies with the client or principal contractor, depending upon the stage of the plan(see box left), and there are a range of penalities and offences for breaking the rules.

Should a person be found guilty of any offence they could face a fine not exceeding £50,000. Fixed Penalty Notices can also be issued costing £300. And the plans need to be available at all times and kept for two years after project completion. This will be enforced by local authorities and through the Environment Agency – further guidance on the regulations is available on Defra’s website www.defra.gov.uk/constructionwaste.

Of course construction sites vary greatly with different opportunities available but a SWMP is intended to support each individual project and will alter accordingly to the project’s needs.

Over the next few years it will be interesting to measure the exact impact this new legislation will have upon the industry and its suppliers and whether SWMPs will be implemented effectively and substantial cost savings realised.

The supply impact will start with product manufacturers. Although there is no legal requirement in the new regime for contractors to procure recycled material, construction companies should start to become more aware of where material has come from.

It depends on the company and the construction design, but it is easy to see the larger, more public companies being driven though corporate social responsibility to take on increasing quantities of recycled materials. In this sense the SWMP regulations could complement the aggregates levy to help increase the use of recycled and secondary materials.

I am working with firms who are training up their quantity surveyors and procurement staff to be able to make the best decisions concerning these materials.

The whole thing is so new that it is difficult to predict the exact impact. However, case studies from times when SWMPs were voluntary give us some insight. These show a greater awareness developing in construction projects of where material is sourced and where waste goes.

There are no targets for reuse of material in the new regulations, but the process will highlight opportunities through having to know what is entering and leaving construction projects. We are entering a very interesting time for aggregates supply.

BRE is running a series of events educating firms on how to comply with the SWMP regulations now in place. Training covers explanation of the requirements of the regulations and the use of BRE’s free web-based tool SMARTWaste Plan. Call BRE Events on 01923 664800

The definition of construction work

The definition of “construction work” in the SWMP regulations is aligned with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994.

So, not only may you be effected by the new regs in terms of aggregate supply but you may also need to take them into account for any work you are considering having done.
Primary aggregate suppliers need not worry in terms of excavations as the regs state it does not include “...the exploration for or extraction of mineral resources or activities preparatory thereto carried out at a place where such exploration or extraction is carried out”.

However, it does mean the carrying out of any building, civil engineering or engineering construction work and this is defined widely.

It includes “...the construction, alteration, conversion, fitting out, commissioning, renovation, repair, upkeep, redecoration or other maintenance (including cleaning which involves the use of water or an abrasive at high pressure or the use of substances classified as corrosive or toxic for the purposes of regulation 7 of the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging) Regulations 1993[2]), de-commissioning, demolition or dismantling of a structure.”

It may also include “...the preparation for an intended structure, including site clearance, exploration, investigation (but not site survey) and excavation, and laying or installing the foundations of the structure. Also in its remit are “...the assembly of prefabricated elements to form a structure or the disassembly of prefabricated elements which, immediately before such disassembly, formed a structure.” And there is more.

It also includes “...the removal of a structure or part of a structure or of any product or waste resulting from demolition or dismantling of a structure or from disassembly of prefabricated elements which, immediately before such disassembly, formed a structure.

Finally it includes “...the installation, commissioning, maintenance, repair or removal of mechanical, electrical, gas, compressed air, hydraulic, telecommunications, computer or similar services which are normally fixed within or to a structure.