Submit a Question

A Site Waste Management Plan is a report of the plans to reduce and manage the waste from a construction or demolition project. It provides a framework for waste minimisation as well as the actual management of waste types and quantities arising from a project.

The purpose of Site Waste Management Plans are…

1. To improve resource efficiency and reduce the amount of waste the construction industry produces. This is approximately 72 million tonnes out of a total of 400 million tonnes in the UK each year.
2. To encourage more sustainable waste management by requiring Principal Contractors to reduce waste disposed of to landfill by reusing, recycling and recovering waste as much as possible
3. To reduce the amount of illegally transported waste and fly tipped waste by requiring both Project Clients and Principal Contractors to comply with their ‘Waste Duty of Care’ obligations and provide a full audit trail of how waste is managed within the SWMP.

The SWMP Regulations 2008 apply to any construction, demolition, and maintenance or refurbishment project costing more than £300,000. A Basic SWMP must be produced for projects costing above £300,000 up to £500,000. A Detailed SWMP must be produced for projects costing above £500,000.

A detailed plan needs to provide more information about how waste is managed during construction such as the amounts reused, recycled, recovered and disposed of. A detailed report also needs to provide an estimate of cost savings achieved by implementing the SWMP.

The Project Client has overall responsibility for ensuring a Site Waste Management Plan is produced. However, they can delegate responsibility for the development and management of the SWMP to the Principal Contractor or other 3rd party such as Site Waste Planning Limited. If this is the case, the Project Client must ensure that the SWMP is correctly written and that it meets their legal obligations (see our ‘Project Client Checklist’)The Principal Contractor is also responsible for the Site Waste Management Plan during construction through to Project Completion, although again they can delegate the management of the SWMP to a 3rd party such as Site Waste Planning Limited. However they must also satisfy themselves that the SWMP is correctly managed and meets their legal obligations (see our ‘Principal Contractor Checklist’)

A Site Waste Management Plan must be in place at least before construction begins i.e. before ground is broken. However, the sooner the SWMP is started during the pre-construction phase the better; this can ensure that relevant parties such as the Project Client, Principal Contractor, Design Team, Site Manager, Waste Contractors, and Subcontractors are aware of the Plan and their role in its development and implementation. (See our ‘SWMP Information Guide’ and ‘SWMP On-site Guide - clients only)

Refer to our free download ‘SWMP Information Guide‘ which describes the content of a basic and detailed Site Waste Management Plan.

More Detailed Technical Questions and Answers in relation to Site Waste Management Plans can be found by clicking on the following Link:http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/construction/pdf/swmp-qanda.pdf

Contact Site Waste Planning by email, telephone or submit a web enquiry via our online enquiry form (link) and we will endeavour to help you as quickly as possible.