Waste hierarchy

The waste hierarchy was first introduced into European waste policy in the European Union’s Waste Framework Directive of 1975. In 1989 it was formalised into a hierarchy of management options in the European Commission’s Community Strategy for Waste Management, and further endorsed in the Commission’s review of this strategy in 1996. Drawing on the precautionary principle, the waste hierarchy prioritised the prevention and reduction of waste, then its reuse and recycling and lastly the optimisation of its final disposal. The waste hierarchy is an expression of the broader concept of the sustainable use of resources[1].

Site Waste Management Plans

Site Waste Management Plans are now legally required in England for all construction projects above £300k. Whilst not legal requirements for smaller projects and those in Scotland, N. Ireland and Wales, SWMPs are wider regarded as good practice. They allow a business to monitor the volumes of waste being disposed of, segregate those materials for recycling and also more closely monitor waste streams to allow for targeted reductions and cost savings.

Corporate Social Responsibility

More emphasis is being placed on CSR, Environmental Reporting and Environmental Management Systems in the commercial sector, and many construction companies are beginning to report and improve on their environmental impacts due to this increase in stakeholder pressures.

The report, ‘Investing in sustainability: progress and performance among the UK's listed house-builders revisited’, is part of WWF’s One Million sustainable Homes (OMSH), the aim of which is to move sustainable housing from the fringes to the mainstream of UK housing. In addition to this, WWF in partnership with private investors, have developed a house builder sustainability toolkit which provides advice on building sustainable homes with reference to three main areas:

1. Governance and Strategy- covers Risk Management and Sustainability Policies

2. Impact on the Environment- includes advice on Construction waste and Climate change

3. Impact on Society- covers Health and Safety and Sustainable Communities.

Centre for Construction Innovation (CCI)

The CCI is a centre put together in conjunction with the University of Salford to facilitate an increase in knowledge capital within the construction industry. They have compiled a guidance document to help the industry in their sustainability reporting procedures with sections covering the identification of key issues, advice on how to increase your stakeholder reporting, and the compilation and sharing of the report. The document is free to download and can found here.

Sustainable Construction 

The construction industry in the UK is significant: its output is worth over £100bn a year, it accounts for 8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides employment for around 3 million workers. It also has a significant impact on the environment, from local to global scales. Whilst the physical alteration of the environment in the construction of buildings and infrastructure has a very direct impact on the local environment, the demand, use and waste of a vast array of resources makes the impact of the construction industry inherently global.

• The construction sector uses over 420 million tonnes of material resources and converts 6,500 hectares of land from rural to urban use each year.
• Approximately 13 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste is material delivered to sites but never used.
• Annually, 90 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste is generated - the industry produces three times the waste produced by all UK households combined.
• Construction and demolition is responsible for creating 21% of the hazardous waste in the UK. 

With increasing demand for resources, for land and for new buildings, the concept of sustainable construction and significantly, eco-homes, has rapidly moved up the agenda. The construction industry is under ever-more pressure to build sustainably, to minimise waste and maximise resource efficiency. These pressures not only come from public bodies commissioning buildings, and from those warning of the lack of landfill capacity, but also from the consumer (private house-buyers to commercial companies) and the market place in terms of demand for land and raw materials.

Sustainable Construction aims to look at the impact of a building or piece of infrastructure throughout its lifecycle. From where it is situated and the materials used and methods of construction, to how it will perform in use, be maintained and it’s ultimate life expectancy.

Mass Balance

The mass balance concept is based on the fundamental physical principle that matter can neither be created nor destroyed[2]. Therefore, the mass of inputs to a process, industry or region balances the mass of outputs as products, emissions and wastes, plus any change in stocks, hence the term 'mass balance' is used to describe this type of analysis. When applied in a systematic manner this simple and straightforward concept of balancing resource use with outputs can provide a robust methodology for analysing resource flows.

Resource flow analysis aims to quantify the flow of resources in terms of mass within a defined geographical area or industry sector over a set period of time. Data generated from a resource flow analysis allows the identification of the inefficient use of resources and therefore allows more focussed management of resources and the development of policies to maximise resource efficiency[3].

Biffaward has funded a series of research projects examining resource flows in the UK using the mass balance principles. This has resulted in around 60 studies.  These projects are quantifying the movement of resources for the production of specific materials or through specific economic sectors or geographical areas as these resources are extracted/imported, manufactured into products, used and disposed of or recycled. The wastes generated at each stage of this sequence are also quantified and in this way the entire material flow is captured.

Integrated Product Policy

The Integrated Product Policy (IPP) approach is based on five key principles: life cycle thinking; working with the market; stakeholder involvement; continuous improvement; and a variety of policy instruments.

All products cause environmental degradation in some way, whether from their manufacture, use or disposal. IPP seeks to minimise environmental degradation caused by these products by looking at all phases of a products life cycle and taking action where it is most effective[4].  IPP attempts to stimulate each part of the life cycle and individual supply chain phases to improve their environmental performance.