Site Waste Planning Limited is an environmental consultancy providing site waste planning and Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) services to Clients and Principal Contractors of building and civil engineering projects. We offer professional, cost effective solutions to help organisations meet their obligations under the Site Waste Management Plan Regulations 2008. In addition we ensure that alongside your obligations for Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) you also meet your ‘Waste Duty of Care’ obligations on construction projects and raise your Corporate Social Responsibility profile.

There are 3 main aspects to our service provision: (i) Development and Management of SWMPs for organisations wishing to outsource their SWMP requirements; (ii) Provision of our user-friendly SWMP tool for organisations wishing to develop and manage SWMPs internally; and (iii) Provision of advice and guidance on site waste planning.

Our Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) clients are involved in the construction and demolition industry across both the Public and Private sector covering House Builders and Social Housing Providers, Retail and Commercial Construction, Petroleum Industry, Hospitals, Schools, and Local Authorities

The Site Waste Management Plan Regulations 2008 came into force in April 2008. Prior to this Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) were undertaken by some organisations according to a voluntary SWMP Code of Practice. These Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP) provided a useful starting point for the development of the statutory Site Waste Management Plan Regulations 2008. The obligations which the SWMP Regulations 2008 placed upon Project Clients and Principal Contractors of construction and demolition projects are much more stringent than the old SWMP Code of Practice and have led to more detailed Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) being required for all projects costing over £300,000.

A Site Waste Management Plan or SWMP is a report of the plans to reduce and manage waste from a construction or demolition project and for providing appropriate SWMP training to all site staff. SWMPs therefore provide a framework for waste minimisation as well as the recording, monitoring and management of waste types and quantities arising from a project.

What the Regulations Say.

To summarise, the Site Waste Management Plan Regulations 2008 (SWMP Regulations 2008) apply to any construction project above £300,000.

A Basic Site Waste Management Plan or SWMP must be produced for projects costing above £300,000 up to £500,000.

A Detailed Site Waste Management Plan or SWMP must be produced for projects costing above £500,000.

Project Clients and Principal Contractors both have legal duties under the Site Waste Management Plan Regulations 2008:

Benefits of SWMPs

A correctly created and managed Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) can have the following benefits:

It ensures legal obligations are met avoiding potential cost penalties on the client and Principal Contractor ranging from £300 fixed penalty notices for minor infringements up to unlimited fines for major infringements;

It can save you money by helping you to manage site materials more effectively and encouraging waste minimisation through the pre-design, design and procurement stages of a project. This can cut expensive landfill disposal costs for a construction project, which continue to rise each year. Government figures suggest SWMPs could produce cost savings across a range of construction and demolition projects, from £1K up to £30k depending on the size and type of project through reduced disposal costs and improved resource efficiency.

It can help you measure levels of resource efficiency and waste management performance on and across projects and identify areas for further improvement in designing out waste and managing the waste that is produced.
It contributes to improving your organisation’s environmental performance.

Legal Duties of Project Clients

• You must ensure a Site Waste Management Plan or SWMP is produced before construction begins
• You must appoint and direct a Principal Contractor to comply with the Site Waste Management Plan Regulations 2008 or undertake their SWMP duties under the regulations yourself
• You must declare you will ensure, along with the Principal Contractor, that
  all waste will be dealt with according to the "Waste Duty of Care" regulations
  and managed efficiently and appropriately.
• You must along with the Principal Contractor, ensure sufficient site security is in place to prevent illegal disposal of waste.
• You must, along with the Principal Contractor, periodically review the Site Waste Management Plan or SWMP to check it is accurate in relation to waste management roles and responsibilities.

2.3.2 Legal Duties of Principal Contractors

You must ensure:

All site waste is managed according to the "Waste Duty of Care" regulations
, efficiently and appropriately

Sufficient site security to prevent illegal waste disposal

Your Site Waste Management Plans or SWMPs are updated whenever waste is removed from site.

Details are recorded on all Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) of the types of waste produced on site and how they are managed, as well as the quantities for detailed SWMPs.

Waste is reused, recycled or recovered as far as reasonably practicable.

Every site worker has a site induction about Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) together with any further information and training to ensure waste is managed according to the plan, as far as reasonably practicable.

An up to date copy of the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is kept on site or at the site office and all contractors have access to it.

The Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) is periodically reviewed to check it is accurate in relation to waste management roles and responsibilities.

You make and maintain arrangements for effective cooperation among workers in relation to the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) and monitor their effectiveness.

Copies of Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) are kept for 2 year after project completion.

1. Preconstruction Phase

The Site Waste Management Plan Regulations 2008 (SWMP Regulations 2008) require certain checks to be undertaken before construction begins and certain statutory information to be entered onto Site Waste Management Plans.

Permits and Licences Information

The following details are required before any waste taken off-site:

• Name of any person/company removing waste from site including contractor, subcontractors and waste management companies;
• Contact details of person/company removing waste from site;
• Address and postcode of any site used for treatment/storage/final disposal of waste removed from site
• Waste carrier registration number of any contractor or waste company intending to take waste away from site, a certified copy of their waste carrier licence and the valid to date.
• Waste permit number for waste sites to be used or confirmation of exemption in relation to the Site Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 together with certified copies and the valid to date.
• Registration with Environment Agency as a hazardous waste producer if necessary.

Project Description

This should include details of the client and principle contractor and a project description.

Waste Minimisation Details

The project design team and/or Principal Contractor must provide details of any decisions that have been taken during the pre-design/ design/procurement stages of a project which contribute towards minimising the waste produced during a project and enter these onto the Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs).

Waste Estimation Details

Best estimates of waste quantities will be adequate to help identify the key waste streams and these may be obtained from several sources including the Principal Contractor and subcontractors, and based on past experience. These estimates need to be entered onto the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP)

The key waste streams identified need to be classified as INERT, NON-HAZARDOUS, or HAZARDOUS as a minimum to enable suitable waste management planning and to determine whether notification needs to be made to the Environment Agency of Hazardous Waste Producers on the site.

Information needed includes:

• An estimate of waste types and quantities likely to be produced during the project.
• The intended waste management actions for each waste type covering reuse, recycling, recover, disposal to landfill, other forms of disposal and whether these are on or off site. (The Principal Contractor has to ensure that any waste, including that taken away by subcontractors, is reused, recycled or recovered where possible and that the reasons for any other form of disposal are explained in the Site Waste Management Plans or SWMPs. This requirement should form part of your discussions with the relevant waste management contractor.)
• Subcontractors intending to take their own waste off site must be suitably registered and must also provide details of intended waste types, quantities and management actions together with any reasons for disposal to landfill or other form of disposal.

The Site Waste Management Plan Regulations 2008 (SWMP Regulations 2008) require certain details to be updated on the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) during the construction phase.

Updating the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP)

The Principal Contractor must update the Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) regularly during construction with certain information including:

• The classification, types and quantities of wastes taken off site and the relevant dates
• The waste management actions applied to each waste type and the quantities or % quantities for each of these actions. (detailed Site Waste Management Plans only)
• The waste management costs. (detailed Site Waste Management Plans only)The waste carrier registration numbers of anyone transporting the waste until final treatment or disposal
• The name and address of each waste site used for waste treatment/disposal of waste and whether the site has a waste permit or is exempt

Additional Principal Contractor Duties

As part of their Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) responsibilities the Principal Contractor should also:

• Ensure that waste is reused, recycled or recovered as far as practicable and provide an explanation for any waste sent to landfill or other disposal.
• Obtain copies of all waste transfer notes, hazardous waste consignment notes; on-site.
• Provide notification of registration with Environment Agency as a hazardous waste producer if necessary.

Waste Manager/Contractor Duties

Any waste management company or contractor taking waste off site should provide the following minimum information to the person responsible for updating the Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) during construction:

• Certified copies of waste carrier licence and waste permit/exemption for anyone transporting, treating and disposing of waste taken off site through to final treatment/disposal.
• Quantities of any waste taken off site
• The waste management actions applied to each waste type taken off site and the quantities/proportions of waste for each action according to reused, recycled, recovered, landfilled or other disposal.(detailed Site Waste Management Plan or SWMP Only)
• An explanation for any waste landfilled or otherwise disposed of.

Principal Contractor Duties

At project completion the Principal Contractor must sign a statutory statement confirming that the Site Waste Management Plan or SWMP has been monitored regularly throughout the construction phase and be able to demonstrate this.

It is also necessary to produce a cost savings report identifying the estimated cost savings that have been achieved as a result of implementing the SWMP (detailed Site Waste Management Plans or SWMPs Only)

Finally an electronic or hard copy of the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) should be kept by the Principal Contractor for years from the project completion date.

1. A Site Waste Management Plan is mandatory for construction, maintenance and demolition projects costing more than £300,000 but also as part of the BREEAM assessment criteria.
2. It is your overall responsibility to ensure that a SWMP is prepared before construction begins
3. You need to instruct the Principal Contractor to fulfil their SWMP obligations during and after construction, including updating and monitoring the plan.
4. Either you or the Principal Contractor can commission a 3rd party to write and manage the SWMP on their behalf or undertake it yourselves.
5. You must declare you will ensure, along with the Principal Contractor, that all waste will be dealt with according to the “Waste Duty of Care” regulations and managed efficiently and appropriately
6. You must along with the Principal Contractor, ensure sufficient site security is in place to prevent illegal disposal of waste.
7. You must, along with the Principal Contractor, periodically review the SWMP to check it is accurate in relation to waste management roles and responsibilities.

SWMP Checklist Questions

The Site Waste Management Plan Regulations 2008 require that the Project Client needs to take an active role in the development of their Site Waste Management Plan to ensure that both they and the Principal Contractor fully comply with the regulations, avoiding the risk of prosecution and financial penalties.

A checklist approach coupled with a pre-construction meeting and appropriate follow up contact with the Principal Contractor or other party writing the Site Waste Management Plans can be used to evaluate whether your SWMP is compliant with the regulations and ensure that both you and the Principal Contractor are meeting your legal obligations.

To assist you as Project Clients with the above we have compiled the following checklist questions which can be used as part of the dialogue process with the Principal Contractor and Design Team:

Client Questions

1. Have you assigned a person with internal responsibility for your role in the Site Waste Management Plan process?
2. Have you discussed the requirement for a project Site Waste Management Plan Process with the Principal Contractor?
3. Has the Principal Contractor also assigned a person with responsibility for their role in the Site Waste Management Plan process?
4. Has the project design team been notified regarding the need to provide design-related information for the Site Waste Management Plan?
5. Have the Project Client and Principal Contractor signed a joint ‘Statutory
   Declaration’ that they will fulfil their SWMP and ‘Waste Duty of Care’ obligations?

Principal Contractor Questions

Both the Project Client and Principal Contractor have joint responsibility to ensure waste is dealt with according to the Environmental Protection Act 1990 “Waste Duty of Care� and that sufficient site security measures are in place to prevent illegal disposal of waste. The Principal Contractor also has responsibility for updating and monitoring Site Waste Management Plans regularly during construction and upon project completion.

Accordingly, the following checklist questions should be asked to ensure that these requirements will be met:

What procedures will the Principal Contractor have in place to:

1. Check the validity of waste carrier licences and waste permits for all parties transporting and treating waste from the project?
2. Remove waste offsite where necessary and ensure that it is reused, recycled or recovered as far as practicable before disposal in other ways?
3. Ensure wastes on site are stored safely and securely and to prevent public access to the wastes?
4. Ensure waste documentation is correctly filled in and stored?
5. Ensure periodic monitoring of waste documentation including for the end destination of waste?
6. Ensure all site staff receive a Site Waste Management Plan Induction and are aware of the correct on-site procedures for handling and storing waste and that this is monitored?
7. Ensure that any subcontractors working on site co-operate effectively with the Principal Contractor and each other in relation to the Site Waste Management Plan?

The following additional questions should also be asked of the Principal Contractor

1. Will the site need to be registered for hazardous waste and if so who will undertake this?
2. How will your Site Waste Management Plans be updated and monitored during construction?
3. How and when will the Client and Principal Contractor periodically review the SWMP during construction and revise it if necessary?
4. How does the Principal Contractor intend to provide the required cost savings estimation report at project completion, for projects over £500,000?
5. Where will the Principal Contractor store the Site Waste Management Plans for the required 2 years after project completion?