Planning a project waste strategy

At the city scale clear aspirations are required for the management of waste for construction projects. This can form part of overarching strategies for all waste through planning documents or corporate targets.

Home Office, London

In the case of Canberra in Australia for example, a ‘No waste by 2010’ goal was put in place following public consultation. This target covers all waste streams including construction and demolition waste and has provided a brand and profile for the Council to press for the best quality construction waste practices on the ground.

At the site and building scales, strategies are required to manage the balance of materials in demolition and construction on projects. The Institution of Civil Engineers’ demolition protocol provides a pragmatic set of methodologies to achieve resource efficiency in construction, demolition and refurbishment projects.

It works effectively through the planning system (planning conditions/agreements) and provides:

• a framework for action through the supply chain, for example through tenders and contracts
• a basis for assessing the capacity of local reprocessors to supply recovered materials and create demand where appropriate
• a basis for assessing the potential for procuring components/materials with recycled content.

For larger schemes, a waste strategy needs to be developed for the demolition, construction, operational and (where appropriate) decommissioning phases. This should influence the overall design of the scheme to ensure that waste management and minimisation are enshrined from the outset. A strategy of this kind could include targets for reducing waste production and maximising recycling at all stages of development and operation to steer design solutions.

Greenwich Millennium Village managed to reduce construction waste by more than 50 per cent, resulting in a cost saving of £150,000. It did this through using a waste management system to reduce waste, and to re-use and recycle unavoidable waste.

Priority: plan for sustainable waste management
Tags: waste, cities and towns, buildings and spaces