Colin Mitchell makes a number of points about the early development of site waste management plans (SWMPs) and the need for mechanisms for identifying, measuring and scoring approaches to SWMP regulations (September 12, page 93).

Wrap (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) and Envirowise already provide support and guidance to help organisations reduce and manage their construction waste.

This month, Wrap is launching a new voluntary waste reduction agreement that supports the target, set out in the Strategy for Sustainable Construction, of halving construction waste to landfill by 2012. The agreement provides a clear framework by which the industry and its clients can make a public commitment to playing their part in halving construction waste to landfill and also benchmark their performance against a pre-agreed and universally accepted target.

Common reporting and measurement will be integral, and tools such as Wrap鈥檚 net waste tool, which provides a mechanism for forecasting amounts and types of waste, and the SWMP template can help measure and report improved performance.

In the current economic climate, failing to measure and report waste maintains a lack of the transparency needed to afford both clients and contractors the opportunity to identify and achieve cost savings.

Mervyn Jones, construction programme manager, Wrap

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