How to deal with building waste
It’s amazing how much waste accumulates when you take on a build. Before you end up with a pile of rubbish you don’t know what to do with, do your research — finding where to dispose of it, and associated costs, is an important part of planning your build
Ian Rock explains how to deal with building waste and minimise your costs in the process
Probably the last thing on your mind when contemplating renovating, extending or building your own home is the decidedly unglamorous subject of waste disposal.yet even modest construction projects can generate prodigious quantities of rubbish, and when it comes to budgeting there’s a temptation to sweep the issue of cost under the financial carpet labelled ‘contingencies’, potentially storing up trouble further down the line. The real worry is that unless the tender documents clearly specify responsibility for disposal of waste, clients who’d simply assumed it was included in the contractor’s price could be in for an unpleasant surprise, finding themselves lumbered with extra costs that could easily escalate. To head off such problems before they arise there are three key questions that need to be asked before costing a project: who is responsible for disposing of waste, what is the best way to dispose of it, and how much will it cost?
Recycling: no longer a rubbish topic
Not so long ago the subject of ‘recycling’ was regarded as something of an irrelevance on construction sites. Today, with significantly higher costs of disposal and better environmental awareness, there’s much greater scrutiny on how waste is dealt with. Waste generated by the construction industry contributes around a third of all the rubbish that ends up in landfill. Excessive packaging of building materials is one of the biggest culprits, but despite widely publicised concerns over single use plastics, there is regrettably little sign of the volume of packaging diminishing. Environmental concerns aside, probably the most pressing question this raises for builders is how to prevent waste accumulating so a garden or plot with limited space isn’t piled sky-high with debris creating unpleasant working conditions and blocking access.
Another point to bear in mind is that unless someone physically filters out the materials that could usefully be re-used, sold or recycled, everything will all get chucked in together, swelling the total volume of waste. So to reduce your outlay on waste disposal, it’s worth taking a moment to consider what sort of rubbish you’re likely to be dealing with.
TYPES OF WASTE
Anyone familiar with the etiquette of council tips will know that waste needs to be sorted and segregated into different categories, some of which have cost or health implications. Simply chucking