Ashford construction firms benefit from waste reduction help

The assistance, which is being jointly co-ordinated by the Remade South East programme and the Ashford's Future partnership, comes just weeks before the introduction of government legislation on site waste management plans (SWMPs).

With the regulations, that will require SWMPs to be produced by construction companies as part of new development, set to be introduced in early April, firms in the area have been invited to join a project offering them advice on the production of a suitable plan.

At the same time, participating companies have also received a waste audit, as well as the offer of a free training day to increase their use of sustainable business practices.

Response

Diana Lock, programme manager at Remade South East, claimed that the initiative, which is part of a programme funded by the South East England Development Agency, came in direct response to both recent and upcoming legislative changes.

“The introduction of legislation on the pre-treatment of waste and site waste management plans, coupled with further rises in landfill tax over the next three years, will create incentives for the building industry to be more innovative in the way they manage waste,” she said.

Laurienne Tibbles, sustainable development manager for Ashford's Future, argued that the project was already having an impact on local firms.

She said: “One man's rubbish is another man's treasure, and by identifying the types of waste arising from construction sites we have also identified new resource streams for waste processing companies.

“Ultimately we hope to see less waste produced, more waste being recycled and far less waste being sent to landfill.”

Shared

The production of a SWMP for the construction of all new buildings costing over £300,000 is scheduled to become a legal requirement for all construction firms from April 6, with enforcement powers to be shared by local authorities and the Environment Agency.

Defra is currently holding an informal consultation, until March 20, among both construction firms and regulatory bodies such as local authorities to feed into the development of non-statutory guidance that will be published at the same time as the SWMPs become a legal requirement.