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Definition of Waste: Development Industry Code of Practice

Main downloads

• Definition of Waste: Development Industry Code of Practice
• Materials Management Plan (MMP) Form
• Qualified Person Declaration
• NEW Qualified Person Self Declaration Capability Record
• CURRENT Qualified Person RENEWAL Self Declaration Capability Record
• Site of Origin Use Register of Environmental Benefits
• CLUSTER Site Use Register of Environmental Benefits
• Direct Transfer Use Register of Environmental Benefits
• Code of Practice & Cluster Register of Materials and Sites - February 2012 

Version 2 of the Definition of Waste: Development Industry Code of Practice Released

 CL:AIRE, has today announced a significant initiative to improve the sustainable and cost effective development of land including greenfield, brownfield and contaminated land sites. A new and updated version of the Development Industry Code of practice has been released which will deliver cost, time, social and environmental benefits to those dealing with excavated site materials. The CoP provides a clear, consistent and streamlined process which enables the legitimate re-use of materials on site or their movement between sites with a significantly reduced regulatory burden. In many instances the CoP can provide an alternative to Environmental Permits or Waste Exemptions when seeking to reuse excavated materials.

The new updated Code now enables the direct transfer and re-use of clean naturally occurring soil materials between sites. It also creates the conditions to support the establishment and operation of fixed soil treatment facilities, which have a key role to play in the future of sustainable materials management. As with earlier versions it also enables the reuse of both contaminated and uncontaminated materials on the site of production, and between sites within defined Cluster projects.

A full version of the updated Code of Practice is available for download above.

Success to Date

The original Definition of Waste: Development Industry Code of Practice (Version 1) was released in September 2008 and covered the reuse of materials on site and as part of a defined Cluster Projects. This has allowed significant cost and environmental benefits to be realised; the CoP has been beneficially used on more than 125 projects ranging from landmark developments through land remediation schemes to more routine infrastructure and utility works.

The CoP has allowed the Environment Agency to step back from the detailed auditing and quality assurance of many earthworks projects which pose little or no risk to the environment. An appropriate degree of scrutiny is still applied to higher risk schemes, but the public resources saved by this initiative allow the Agency to focus its limited resources on dealing with more damaging illegal activities. In establishing a role for a “qualified person” the Environment Agency has enabled the private sector step up and take responsibility for implementing good practice and promoting sustainable materials management.

New Document Requirements

There is no extra documentation required as part of the new version, however in order to give extra guidance and simplify any future audits the steering group have decided to introduce a template for a standardised Materials Management Plan(MMP) which is available for download above. All future projects intending to use version 2 of the CoP must use this template; any projects currently underway can continue to use the MMP format already in place. Further explanation for the introduction of this document and when to use it is included in the FAQs for the CoP located in the yellow Article Index box at the top of this page.

The steering group does recognise that some organisations may have taken some time in developing their own in-house MMP formats. We hope that transferring to this standardised form will not cause significant inconvenience and that eventually this system will prove most efficient to all who use and administer the CoP.

New Requirements for Qualified Persons (QP)

The role of QP in ensuring that best practice is consistently and demonstrably applied is key to the success of the CoP. It is therefore essential that all QP’s update and maintain their knowledge. Current QPs are required to be chartered with a professional institute; CL:AIRE will expect to see evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) logs showing an individual has registered the method they have employed to update their knowledge, for example through the new training course or through private study.

CL:AIRE will be contacting all existing registered QP’s to notify them of the requirements for continuing professional development (CPD), whilst those wishing to be registered for the first time will be informed on application.

A full explanation of the new requirements both for current and prospective QP is located in the yellow Article Index box at the top of this page.

Register of Environmental Benefits

The success of the CoP to date and it future use and development relies heavily on a strong portfolio of successful sites. Further, improvement of the CoP can only be achieved on the basis of practitioner’s experiences. It therefore remains vital for the industry to provide feedback on their experiences and the benefits in using the CoP. Consequently, we continue to provide two online pro-formas to collate this information (Site of Origin Use, and CLUSTER Site Use) to act as the Register of Environmental Benefits. This will also allow CL:AIRE to feedback aggregated data back to the industry.

To this end, following use of the CoP we would be grateful if you could complete the relevant of the two pro-formas when you are ready to report your use, or intended use.

• Site of Origin Use Register of Environmental Benefits
• CLUSTER Site Use Register of Environmental Benefits
• Direct Transfer Use Register of Environmental Benefits

This will provide us with information relating to:

• The volume of material reused on the site of origin
• The volume of material reused following treatment at a Hub site within a defined CLUSTER
• Reduction in raw material consumption
• Vehicle emissions*

Register of Materials

CL:AIRE is keeping a register of materials and services which fall within the Definition of Waste: Code of Practice (CoP). We aim to link material holders with service providers or organisations requiring materials in order to make the process of finding project partners an easier and quicker process.

Organisations involved in the management of development sites are urged to register key information on materials and services which fall with the CoP which will be held confidentially by CL:AIRE.  For example - which sites are being or are due to be remediated/developed?  What treatment options are in use or available in an area of the country? Where there are site imbalances of soils or fill materials?

CL:AIRE will review the information provided against the register and contact organisations where we see possible project partnerships for finding ‘homes’ for materials falling within the CoP either through direct site transfer or via Clusters. The register is not publicly available; CL:AIRE will act to make the introductions and offer any further services as required in order to ensure successful partnerships are achieved.

CL:AIRE's independence in the market and it’s familiarity with the CoP positions it perfectly to act as a trusted administrator of such an initiative. More information on this register is available at www.claire.co.uk/cop/register

Application

The CoP (The Definition of Waste: Development Industry Code of Practice) must be read in conjunction with the Environment Agency Regulatory Position Statement. Information relating to the concept of the Qualified Person is described in Page 2.

Contact

For any technical queries relating to the Definition of Waste: Code of Practice please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Notes

1.    The CoP can provide an alternative to the use of an Environmental Permit or Waste Exemption in certain circumstances. Increase in the use of the CoP is already being seen since the effective removal of widely used waste exemptions (e.g. para 9 and 19) in April 2010. This trend is expected to continue as Developers face decisions as to whether or not they require an Environmental Permit to cover the re-use of excavated materials.

2.    The Steering Group is made up of site owners, industry groups, regulators, consultants and contractors facilitated by CL:AIRE.  The members are:

• Nicholas Willenbrock, CL:AIRE
• Matthew Whitehead, Environment Agency
• Clive Boyle and Phil Crowcroft representing the Environmental Industries Commission
• Ged Duckworth, GD Environmental
• Richard Boyle, Homes and Community Agency
• Peter Witherington, Liz Smith representing the Home Builders Federation
• Lisa Hathway, National House Building Council
• Sarah Rae, Frank Evans, Doug Laidler representing the Soil & Groundwater Technology Association
• Mike Higgins and Philip Norville representing fixed Soil Treatment Facility operators

3.    CL:AIRE has trained over 340 individuals through it’s CoP course.

4.    Financial sponsorship for this version has been received from the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA), SEEDA, DEC UK Ltd, and Hydrock.

             

5.    CL:AIRE wish to take this opportunity to thank all those who took time to respond to the recent publication consultation on this version of the initiative.