Construction waste rises up the agenda

Dr David Moon, programme manager, Clients and Policy, at Government-backed WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme), which works in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, to help businesses and individuals reduce waste, develop sustainable products, and use resources efficiently, outlines the crucial role that NHS Trusts play in securing cost savings through minimising construction waste, as set out in a new WRAP guide.

The construction industry consumes one quarter of the UK’s material resources, and generates one third of total waste. An Environment Agency report prepared by BRE, entitled “The economic and environmental benefits of resource efficiency in construction”, found that a staggering £1.5 billion of construction products are purchased as wastage allowances each year. Further evidence shows that tackling construction waste can reduce project costs, with financial savings outweighing the implementation effort by a factor of 5:1, or greater. If addressed directly, cost savings of around 0.2% to 2% of construction value are possible, depending on the type of project. During periods of intense budget constraints, these efficiency savings are significant. In the past, the issue of waste was left to the building contractor, and the focus was on recycling, rather than designing out waste. Waste has, however, risen up the political agenda in recent years, and the onus is now very much on NHS Trusts to lead by example and rein in waste on all NHS projects. This seismic shift from waste being solely the preserve of the contractor, to recognising the role and responsibility of the client in addressing waste, is one that all NHS Trusts will encounter from now on. Part of the reason for this change is that existing UK landfill capacity will be exhausted within a few years in some regions. A number of public policy and legislative drivers focusing on construction waste, of which NHS Trusts need to be aware, have recently come into force, as follows:

•  The NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy, “Saving Carbon: Improving Health”, sets carbon reduction targets for NHS Trusts. A significant contributor to these targets is reducing construction waste. The Strategy states that every NHS organisation must produce a Boardapproved Sustainable Development Management Plan outlining metrics and targets.
•  The English Government has set a target to halve the amount of construction, demolition, and excavation (CD&E) waste sent to landfill by 2012, relative to a 2008 baseline. This is outlined in the Strategy for Sustainable Construction 2008. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland likewise have policies driving towards zero waste.
•  The Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP) Regulations 2008 place the responsibility for forecasting, managing, and measuring waste for every project with a budget of over £300,000 squarely on the shoulders of the client and principal contractor.
•  The Landfill Tax on non-inert wastes is increasing annually: from £48/tonne in financial year 2010/11 to £80/tonne from April 2014. This adds significant costs to construction projects.