Cutting the costs of waste in NHS construction: Advice for NHS Trusts as construction clients
16 August 2010
Produced by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) working in partnership with the NHS Sustainable Development Unit and the Department of Health, Cutting the costs of waste in NHS construction: Advice for NHS Trusts as construction clients is freely available to download from the WRAP website and deals with both refurbishment and maintenance work, as well as new builds.
Said David Moon, Programme Manager Clients and Policy, WRAP, “This guide contains crucial information that will allow all NHS Trusts to make significant savings on all building work at a time when the need to reduce spending is paramount.”
“Research undertaken by WRAP shows that tackling construction waste can reduce project costs by 0.2% to 2% of construction value, varying by project type.”
Rob Smith, Department of Health, Director, Gateway Review, Estates & Facilities Division explains the value of tackling waste in his foreword to the guide;
“Whether engaged in a new build or refurbishment capital development scheme, construction waste is a costly and often unnecessary by-product. Why pay to dispose of this waste when much of it can be recovered, recycled or reused? But, it is not just the economics. There is a cost borne by the NHS and society as a whole in the damage this waste can do to the environment via landfill and healthcare via pollution.”
Cutting the costs of waste in NHS construction: Advice for NHS Trusts as construction clients outlines how best to engage with design teams and contractors to reduce waste at every stage of a building project; from procurement and design through construction and general waste management. The guide gives clear template wording that can be used to inform project teams of outcome requirements for waste.
Importantly, these can easily be embedded within an NHS Sustainable Development Management Plan (SDMP); guidance for which states that “All buildings should move quickly to have a significantly lower carbon impact, not just in their construction but also in their lifetime use and in their decommissioning. In their design, new builds should encourage a broader approach to sustainability, including transport and delivery of services.”
The guide will also aid in the drafting of Estate Management Plans and in tender and contract documents. The following key waste management strategies can be mandated:
- implementation of a Site Waste Management Plan that sets specific waste targets;
- measuring and reporting progress against the corporate key performance indicators for waste and waste to landfill;
- reducing waste generation and reporting the tonnes of waste generated per £100k construction value;
- recovering a minimum percentage of construction materials, and aiming to exceed this; and
- ensuring that an agreed percentage of total material value derives from reused and recycled content in new build, and report actual performance.
Cutting the costs of waste in NHS construction: Advice for NHS Trusts as construction clients will also help NHS Trusts adhere to the NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy “Saving Carbon: Improving Health”. This sets carbon reduction targets for NHS Trusts, a significant factor of which is reducing construction waste.
