| 6th April 2008 -
New legislation
introduced by the DTI to regulate site waste management |
 |
Anyone planning a
construction project costing more than £300,000 in
England must now legally comply with new
legislation introduced by the DTI. Termed the SWMP (Site Waste
Management Programme) the legislation is designed to
manage and control waste processing and to minimise
landfill waste and environmental impact. |
| All good stuff, except that
individuals are now liable to prosecution and fines of
up to £50,000 if they do not comply with the new
legislation. In addition, fixed penalty notices of £300
can be served on individuals that the authorised
enforcer (from Local Council or Environmental Agency)
believe that they have intentionally obstructed anyone
acting in the execution of these regulations. |
| The rationale of a
typical SWMP follows five clear steps, according to
guidelines from
NetRegs |
Step 1: Eliminate -
avoid producing waste in the first place
Step 2: Reduce - minimise the amount of waste
Step 3: Re-use - use items as many times as
possible
Step 4: Recycle - recycle what you can only after
you have re-used it
Step 5: Dispose - dispose of what is left
responsibly |
(www.netregs.co.uk
is a free confidential government website that provides
guidance to small businesses on environmental
legislation) |
| What is implied from this
process is that disposable waste is the final by-product
from the previous four activities. If so, then
disposable material is handled many times over before it
is deemed waste, with the associated costs applicable.
There is however an alternative to this process. |
| Ore Sizer (UK) Ltd. is the authorised manufacturer and
distributor of the Vimelco (OY) WBG scalping grid for the
United Kingdom and Ireland [::
email here ::] and was
demonstrated recently at Hadley's Recycling & Waste Management based at Theale.
The demonstration showed how it is possible to easily
remove waste material from difficult materials that
comprise reusable and recyclable material and topsoil or
clay mixture. |
| Being able to achieve this
up front has the following benefits to both recycler and
the demolition/construction company alike. Below is an
example of how a dual grid system set individually at
150mm and 50mm can eliminate minus 50mm material usually
consigned to landfill/backfill, right from the beginning
as it arrives on site, conveying away clean crushable
material for recycled aggregate production. |
 |
| By
deploying the Ore Sizer Primary Scalping Grid early on
in the waste management cycle you will enjoy the
following benefits: |
- reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by
separating the usable material from the unusable
- cut down on energy consumption by reducing the
handling of waste material
- increase the take-up of recycled materials by
eliminating the non-recyclable material early on
- manage material more efficiently by immediately
reducing the handling requirement
- reduce the disposal cost for waste by simply
reducing the amount of waste itself
- reduce the risk of prosecution (and ultimately
being fined) by making your SWMP more manageable
- itemise the environmental saving by accurately
quantifying the recycled amount returned
- make cost reductions all round by removing waste
or landfill product early on in the cycle
|
