Waste is an issue in any business, but particularly when it comes to construction. With costs involved in disposing of that waste, and incentives to maximise recycling, it is important that all construction businesses get a handle on the waste that they produce. Effective waste management can ensure that projects are run more efficiently, and costs are kept as low as possible
You might think that waste is not the most important subject that you will deal with but managing it well can be an essential task. Here, Sarah Vernau, marketing manager at Flame UK shares her insight into the importance of effective construction waste management.
What are the legal requirements of waste management?
As a contractor, you will be aware that there are certain legal requirements that you need to adhere to when it comes to your waste. There are hazardous waste controls and other waste legislation that always need to be allowed for.
By having a proper waste management system in place, it is much easier for you to comply with these. It can also help you to fulfill any planning and building regulations and contribute towards the commitment of halving the waste that goes to landfills.
There are other environmental benefits to reducing your waste, including using fewer natural resources and lower carbon dioxide emissions from producing, transporting, and using various materials. There can also be a lower risk of pollution incidents.
It is likely that your business is now looking at its own corporate responsibility when it comes to environmental concerns. Effective construction waste management will play a significant part in helping you to reach your own internal targets and boost your reputation amongst your competitors as well as your green credentials.
Effective waste management saves materials
Cash is king, and every project needs to save money wherever it can. When you start to look at where your waste comes from, you can identify ways in which you can use your materials more effectively.
This will cut down the amount of waste that you need to dispose of and improve the efficiency of your staff. When you are able to do this consistently, you can put yourself in a position where you can afford to lower some of your prices, making you more likely to win tenders when undercutting the opposition.
Saving materials through demolition waste
There will always be times when waste is inevitable, such as in a demolition project. As part of an effective waste management strategy, you should look at how much of this waste could be reused, whether it is reclaimed as aggregates or selling bricks and other items as whole materials if care has been taken to keep them intact.
By conducting a pre-demolition audit, you should be able to identify what can be salvaged before anyone lifts a finger. This can include items you can sell or things that might be saved for future construction projects. This audit will put your team in a better position when it comes to knowing how to begin the demolition and enables them to work out how to remove things correctly.
Reducing waste through design
The point at which you can start reducing your waste is actually during the design phase of any project. By having an input in the design, you can influence material specifications and make small changes to the design that could have a huge impact on the waste that is produced. Regular site checks to ensure that the project is sticking to the design solutions also minimises the waste involved in correcting mistakes.
Procurement practice
How you procure your materials can play a big part in how much waste you end up producing. It is important to check the quantities of anything that you order and to make sure that the materials are correct. It is surprising how much waste is created simply by over-ordering or incorrectly ordering and not being able to use the materials that you have paid for.
Even if you are working off estimates, getting as much detail as possible will help you to be more specific when you order your materials.
This should be good practice for most construction projects, as it not only reduces the amount of waste that is produced but also saves money when not ordering unnecessary or incorrect materials.
Embedding a culture of waste reduction
Having someone to manage waste practices is great, but they will need the whole team to pull together and make their strategies work. You will need to embed a culture of waste reduction in everyone that you work with instead of just directives that can be ignored, either within your business or outside of it.
As construction projects often involve sub-contractors, you will need to ensure that each one is aware of your aims and is prepared to help work towards them. Without everyone on-site working as a team, your waste management plans will only fall short.
You should request an assessment of the waste reduction capacity of each sub-contractor as part of their pre-qualification process in order for you to determine their competence when it comes to handling waste.
When you write your contract with them, it should clearly state what actions you require them to take, what targets need to be met, and what information they need to supply you with.
The logistics of waste management
Your logistics plan can be another tool in reducing your waste, and it can also reduce the necessary transportation of goods, improve your inventory control, benefit your health and safety requirements and reduce traffic around the site.
You can use your logistics plan to arrange take-bake schemes for unused materials, use software to forecast quantities of materials more accurately, reduce packing waste through reusable or returnable pallets and control your inventory via consolidation schemes.
Whilst waste management is not at the top of many agendas, it can be a useful tool in saving your business money, keeping it compliant, and winning new business over your competitors. Taking the time to put together a well-thought-out strategy and ensuring that it is implemented properly on-site can be hugely beneficial and will benefit your reputation and your profit margins.
