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News Release from: WRAP | Subject: Site Waste Management Plans
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 27 March 2008
Soils can help companies meet waste
targets
WRAP's Landscape and Regeneration team is calling upon construction businesses to consider incorporating soil re-use into their Site Waste Management Plans.
Many companies just concentrate on reducing their wastage of building and demolition materials, without realising that soils make up a common component of construction waste too Many tonnes of soil are often considered unusable and transported off site to landfill
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 16 Dec 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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This is a costly process, as well as being detrimental to the environment.
SWMPs have been introduced to help construction businesses forecast and reduce the amount of waste they produce, including soils and other inert materials: improving their bottom line, as well as demonstrating good environmental performance.
Paul Mathers, Programme Manager for Landscape and Regeneration at WRAP said: "Re-using soils can play an important role in helping businesses with their Site Waste Management Plans, but often people forget that soils can be a waste".
"Too many construction companies still dispose of soils from project sites to landfill and import new topsoil to meet the landscaping needs of their developments".
""Businesses need to start considering soils at the beginning of a project, as part of their materials budgeting process.
Existing on - site soils and soil forming materials can be mixed with quality compost to create an excellent topsoil.
Using on site resources in this way not only offers cost benefits, it also goes a long way to helping companies meet SWMP targets".
""Some of the projects we have been working with recently, such as Ravenscraig in Scotland, have been using existing on-site materials, such as soils, steel furnace slag and glacial drift and mixing them with quality compost to create a topsoil capable of sustaining plant growth".
"This is just one example of a project using on site soil resources to help contribute towards waste management plans".
In April 2008 SWMPs will be a legal requirement for all projects worth more than GBP300,000 in England, so there is more need than ever for construction companies to do as much as they can to meet these targets.
WRAP has produced a SWMP template that will help construction projects comply with forecasting and monitoring requirements.
The template also highlights the potential for savings across all materials including soils, as required by the Regulation.
For more information on reusing soils as part of Site Waste Management Plans, please contact Paul Mathers at WRAP on 01295 817899 or visit the website.
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