Site waste management plans, the designer and the CDM principal contractor

The Site Waste Management Plans Regulations 2008 (SWMP) have as their purpose the requirement for the elimination, recycling or re-use of construction waste so as to reduce the use of landfill. The results of a survey carried out to establish designers' involvement in waste reduction during the design stage shows a lack of understanding and commitment to this process. A second survey shows that information from the designer on the quantity and type of waste, which the principal contractor is expected to manage once the construction phase commences, is lacking. It is argued that as a result, any waste reduction achieved during the construction phase would be at the initiative of the CDM principal contractor, thus placing an unreasonable responsibility on him to reduce waste resulting from a design over which he has had no control. This could result in increased health and safety risks for the CDM 2007 principal contractor as he would have no prior knowledge of the designer-imposed waste management activity required of him (site storage/working areas required for materials recycling or re-use, et cetera) once the construction phase commences, thus having increased risk of environmental damage and/or pollution resulting from his unplanned site-based waste triage activities.