Property owners and building contractors in the Midlands could be risking huge fines by not putting proper site waste management plans in place when undergoing a construction project, warn building regulation experts at national commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH).

Building regulations enforced by the Environment Agency and local authorities underline that it is a legal requirement for all construction projects of £300,000 and above to have a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) in place for the length of the entire project. If a project is started without a site waste management plan, both the clinet and the principal contractor are guilty of an offence.

Breach of the regulations - the Site Waste Management Regulations 2008 - can result in a fine of up to £50,000 and according to LSH many companies fail to comply with legal requirements fully, either because they are not aware of them or they choose to cut corners.

Refurbishments are a particular target of the legislation because they typically produce a large quantity of construction waste, much of which goes to landfill.  

Michele Wright, Senior Health and Safety and CDM (Construction Design and Management) in LSH's Birmingham office said, "Rather than seeing these regulations as an environmental or bureaucratic problem, they should be seen as a commercial opportunity. By managing waste materials effectively and finding non-landfill ways of disposing of waste, possibly by re-using or recycling, SWMPs can actually save money. By thinking about minimising waste from the outset it is possible to save money on materials, disposal costs and labour and make a real difference to overall project costs."

She added, "A waste management plan can also make tracking waste more straightforward as well as estimating waste disposal costs, information which will help the contractor identify which materials to focus on and identify alternative non-landfill destinations for it."

"I would urge business owners to seek the right advice regarding site waste management and take all measures necessary to avoid leaving themselves open to the risk of prosecution." she said.

For more information about Lambert Smith Hampton, please visit their website here: www.lsh.co.uk