WST 01 - Construction waste management

Contractor not yet appointed at the design stage - KBCN000002

Where the contractor has not been engaged at the design stage certification, it is acceptable to award the credits based on a commitment. This commitment must be from a suitable member of the design team, and must detail the targets and criteria which must be met. Evidence must also confirm that the details in the commitment will form part of the contractual requirements.

Demolition – external guidelines (incl BS 6187) - KBCN0630

Independent standards exist and some are referenced in the BREEAM manual and can be used to provide additional guidance for clients/design teams. Unless explicitly stated they are not 'deemed to satisfy' BREEAM criteria and assessors must demonstrate that BREEAM criteria have been met in the usual way. One such standard is BS 6187:2011 which gives good practice recommendations for the demolition (both full and partial) of facilities, including buildings and structures. The standard is therefore applicable to demolition activities undertaken as part of structural refurbishment. It also covers decommissioning. Unless explicitly stated external standards do not automatically satisfy BREEAM criteria and assessors must demonstrate that BREEAM criteria have been met in the usual way.

Demolition records not available - KBCN1009

Where demolition records are missing, either wholly or in part, the credit available for diversion of construction and demolition waste from landfill cannot be achieved. This includes instances where demolition was conducted under a separate contract or by a third party on behalf of the developer.

Excluding excavation waste from ‘Diversion of resources from landfill’ - KBCN0226

Excavation waste should not be included and assessed against the requirements under ‘Diversion of resources from landfill’. This also applies to BREEAM Communities RE05 - 3rd/4th credits.

External works – waste reporting requirements - KBCN1379

Waste arising from external works does not need to be included within the calculations for construction resource efficiency. To do so would be incongruous with reporting waste relative to the building's floor area. This follows the logic of excluding excavation waste from this criterion. However, waste from external works should be addressed in the RMP and should also be reported in the calculations for the Diversion of resources from landfill credit, which is not reported relative to the building's floor area.

Multiple developments monitoring construction waste on a site - KBCN00036

Where the same contractor is working on a site with more than one development, a single Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP)/Resource Management Plan (RMP) can be produced to demonstrate compliance, if it can be justified that separation of the waste would be impractical. Where the developments are of a similar nature, such as all new-build or all refurbishment with similar scope, the results from the whole development can be apportioned on the basis of floor area to derive the figures upon which the separate developments will be assessed. Where the buildings are not similar, the design team will need to provide calculations to demonstrate that the waste has been apportioned as accurately as possible according to the project types.

21/11/16 Clarification added in relation to dissimilar projects on the same site.

National waste recovery rate – Error in the ASWL - KBCN0996

When the national waste recovery rate is unknown, the project team should assume that it is 50% by weight, according to CN3.4 in the BREEAM International NC 2016 manual. The value given in version 30.0 and previous versions of the ASWL refers to the BREEAM International NC 2013 and RFO 2015.

The value has been corrected in ASWL version 31.

Pre-demolition audit & diversion of resources from landfill - KBCN00025

There is currently no requirement to carry out a pre-demolition audit to allow the award of the credit for diversion of resources from landfill.

Pre-demolition audit – demolition in a later phase - KBCN1012

Where the demolition of an existing building forms part of the works to enable the assessed development, a pre-demolition audit must be carried out to comply with the criteria, even if the demolition occurs as part of a later phase.

28/02/2018 Wording amended for clarity

Pre-demolition audit/(pre-refurbishment) on other structures and hard surfaces - KBCN00045

A pre-demolition/(pre-refurbishment) audit is required where any existing buildings, structures or hard surfaces are present on a development site. The intent of the pre-demolition/(pre-refurbishment) audit is to ensure that any potentially useful materials are considered for re-use or diversion from landfill, not just materials resulting from buildings.

22.11.17 Reference added to the pre-refurbishment audit for RFO assessments.

Pre-demolition/(pre-refurbishment) audit requirement - KBCN0243

Where the site demolition/clearance does not form part of the principal contractor’s works, but has been undertaken by the developer for the purposes of enabling the assessed development, a pre-demolition/pre-refurbishment audit must be carried out and referenced within the SWMP as per the guidance. Where justification and robust evidence can be provided, the following exceptions may apply:

Where it can be demonstrated that demolition/clearance was carried out prior to the developer acquiring the site and no pre-demolition/pre-refurbishment audit is available.
Where the demolition was expedited for health and safety reasons.
Where the demolition has been carried out by the same developer, but as part of a significantly earlier site clearance, occurring prior to RIBA stage 0 and no less than 12 months ahead of the requirement being set to carry out a BREEAM assessment. In such cases it must be clearly demonstrated that the demolition was was unrelated to the current re-development.

This requirement seeks to encourage good practice by developers and design teams in relation to previously developed sites.

11/12/2019 Additional exception added to align with KBCN1257 and guidance re-structured for clarity

22 11 2017 Reference added to the pre-refurbishment audit for RFO assessments.

15 11 2017 Wording amended for clarity

Solid concrete washout - KBCN00063

Solid concrete washout waste should be included in the waste resource efficiency benchmarks.

Using BRE SMARTWaste tool - KBCN0236

BRE SMARTWaste may be helpful in demonstrating the construction waste benchmarks; however its use is not compulsory to achieve the credits. Reference to the SMARTWaste tool has been included in the issue as an example of a tool that can be used to manage and monitor waste generated during construction.

New Construction / International / 2016 / 07 - Waste /