Building site waste plans

5.1What Sydney’s plan has to show

The City of Sydney’s guidelines ask for a Waste and Recycling Management Plan with every development application, including a change of use, that will generate construction, demolition and operational waste. For the construction and demolition stage, Section F of the guidelines sets out what the plan covers.

In short, the plan estimates the waste a project will make and shows how at least 80 per cent of it will be re-used or recycled, backed by receipts, with nothing hazardous sent to landfill. It names the licensed facilities that will take the waste, the storage areas on site and the person who keeps the facilities’ dockets, and for larger multi-unit and all non-residential work, where the recycler sends the materials. Any asbestos-contaminated material already known on the site has to be disclosed too, with quantities, the removalist’s licence details and the licensed site that will receive it.

Materials are to be sorted on site for separate recycling collection. Where that is not possible, mixed loads are to be sorted and recycled after collection, and a material that mixing would spoil for recycling is stored and collected on its own.

For multi-unit residential, co-living, non-residential and mixed-use developments with a construction value over $5 million, a suitably qualified waste consultant prepares the plan. The plan for the construction stage goes in with the development application, and an updated version consistent with the approval must reach the council before a construction certificate can be issued.

The national agency likens asbestos removal to plumbing and electrical work, as a job for experts, noting that licensed asbestos removalists are trained and equipped to handle, remove and dispose of asbestos safely. SafeWork NSW says the small fibres that cutting, drilling or water blasting can free from asbestos products are harmful to breathe in, and can lead to diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis or lung cancer. In NSW, the state’s asbestos website says asbestos waste can be disposed of only at a landfill licensed to accept it. EPA Victoria says asbestos waste in that state is to be delivered to a landfill authorised to receive it, and never put in general, recyclables or green waste bins.

The agency warns against cleaning asbestos cement roofs, or anything else containing asbestos, with high-pressure water, and against scrubbing, sanding and other abrasive processes. Queensland’s government asbestos site, writing for homeowners there, says not to scrape, sand or saw asbestos materials, nor to drill holes in them.

The guidelines also set the council’s wider aim: to divert 90 per cent of construction and demolition waste in the local government area from landfill by 2030. In their glossary, a “bulk bin” is a moveable container of 1.5 or 2 cubic metres, also known as a skip bin.

5.2Victoria: the duty does the planning

EPA Victoria’s construction guidance works from the general environmental duty rather than a set form. As part of a risk management process, it says “you must identify hazards and assess their risks” (© Copyright State Government of Victoria), then put controls in place and check regularly that they still work.

The EPA’s worked example is a registered builder, and her routine reads like a site waste plan. She:

• identifies, at every site, the kinds of industrial waste likely to become unwanted, and plans where to keep them without affecting neighbours, drains or local waterways
• stores masonry and other solid waste either in a designated stockpile, away from drainage and not piled too high, or in clearly labelled bins for each type
• re-uses or recycles where she can, separates the waste by type, and sends what cannot be re-used or recycled to a place lawfully able to receive it
• inspects at the start and end of each day, checking that solid waste and rubble are sorted and stockpiled properly

Stormwater belongs in the same plan. EPA Victoria suggests including stormwater pollution in your site management plan, keeping stockpiles of sand, gravel, topsoil and mulch on site and never on footpaths or roads, keeping litter contained, and washing up after painting, plastering and concreting well away from stormwater drains. It also suggests checking your council’s local laws before work starts, as they may add requirements.

5.3Side by side

5.4If you are the owner

In Victoria, if a contractor is doing your renovation, EPA Victoria says you are responsible for how they manage the waste from your site. These questions, this guide’s suggestions, are a simple way to find out how they will:

• Which bins or skips will be on site, and for which materials?
• Which site will receive each load?
• Who keeps the dockets, and can I have copies?