Utilities: Waste less and save money

Transcription

1 Cutting the cost of waste Utilities: Waste less and save money Procurement good practice for utility infrastructure construction and maintenance Who should read this leaflet? utility company senior managers; managers responsible for utility assets; design and construction engineers; environmental managers; and supply chain contractors and consultants. How to make a difference set corporate policies and targets think about signing up to the Halving Waste to Landfill Commitment; embed performance requirements in procurement processes, project briefs and contracts; use WRAP tools or others to identify waste reduction and recovery opportunities, and include these in your Site Waste Management Plan from an early design stage; require contractors to drive out the waste generated by their supply chains; and measure performance on projects and record achievements. Introduction Buying less and throwing less away can help utility companies to: 1. save money by reducing costs; 2. reduce carbon emissions often set as a key performance indicator by regulators; 3. meet the requirements of regulators and other stakeholders (such as local planning policy or corporate environmental management systems), and enhance public reputation; and 4. respond to drivers from UK government. Waste reduction and recovery can yield additional benefits that fit with asset management objectives; such as shorter times for works, less disruption to the network or to other services, and better service to customers. WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) provides a range of guidance, tools and templates to help utility companies take action and realise the cost and environmental benefits of diverting waste from landfill. In particular, WRAP guidance and model wording will help utility companies and their contractors to measure and improve performance through their procurement and contract processes. Guidance is freely available at In addition, the Designing out Waste Tool for Civil Engineering, the guide to Designing out Waste in Civil Engineering and the Net Waste Tool help project teams to focus their effort when reducing waste and reusing or recovering materials.

2 Utilities: Waste less and save money The case for less waste Sending less waste to landfill and reusing materials makes commercial sense. Materials are a valuable commodity and waste disposal is becoming ever more costly as Landfill Tax rises. Utility projects and street works offer many opportunities to reduce waste, which can lower the overall costs of projects. Some companies report savings of up to 40% by improved waste management in utility trench reinstatements. There are real opportunities for utility companies to transfer benefits gained from good waste management and recovery practices in street works to their capital projects. An estimated million tonnes of construction, demolition and excavation waste end up in landfill each year without any form of recovery or reuse, and about half of this is excavation waste; all taking up room in inert landfills where capacity is expected to run out by Landfill Tax is currently 48 per tonne for inert materials which can be readily recycled and 40 per tonne for non-inert construction wastes, rising to 72 per tonne by Recycled aggregates avoid 2 per tonne of Aggregates Levy. Hence, diverting 1 tonne of material from landfill and reusing it instead of primary aggregate saves Senior management need to provide direction to their supply chains by setting waste reduction and recovery targets in their policy documents and strategic management processes. Once strategy and targets have been set, the way is clear for managers, engineers and consultants to take appropriate actions avoiding the need to seek additional or time-consuming permissions. Project and maintenance managers should ask for waste reduction, reuse and recovery in order to maximise the value achieved from their budgets while integrating sustainability. Design managers should work with design teams to create realistic material demands with lower estimating contingencies. Eliminating waste and specifying recovered materials during the design phase of projects are an essential precursor to good waste management practice during construction. What can be achieved? Recycling 74% of its waste in 2008/9, National Grid avoided 1.85 million in Landfill Tax alone or 9 million in overall landfill costs. Skanska and Anglian Water reused 480 tonnes of site won materials back into the Burnham Market site, saving 15,000, eliminating 60 vehicle movements and avoiding 336 tonnes of CO 2. In 2007/8, Thames Water recycled 56% of its construction waste doubling the 2006/7 recycling level and saving an extra 0.5 million in Landfill Tax or 2.75 million in landfill costs. Current recycling levels are at 94%. The South East Electricity Substations Alliance has made cost savings in excess of 1 million by good practice waste management at the West Thurrock substation site. By recycling concrete, fill brought to site was reduced by 95% and 232 tonnes of CO 2 emissions were avoided. EDF Energy increased excavation waste recycling rates from 18% in 2006, to 65% in 2007, and 81% in 2008 saving 1.1 million in Landfill Tax or 5.5 million in landfill costs. Skanska has a target to send less than 10% of project waste to landfill by the end of 2010; at the end of 2008 the figure was 16% to landfill from 650,000 tonnes generated. 1. reduce costs by: buying less in, reusing more, and throwing less away; making savings on staff time, storage, and vehicle fuel wasted in managing excess materials; avoiding the rising costs of Landfill Tax and the Aggregates Levy; maximising the value of in-situ materials; such as making hydraulically bound mixtures or using geosynthetics; and using local recycling hubs to process wastes from small projects.

3 Utilities: Waste less and save money Reduce waste and reduce carbon Reducing carbon emissions is a high priority for utility companies; 24 of the 43 mainstream electricity, gas, telecoms and water providers in the UK have signed up to the Prince s May Day Network to reduce carbon emissions. Ensuring good practice waste management and recovery in construction procurement will help deliver such reductions. Ofcom are also signed up to the Network. In its Climate Change Policy Statement, Ofwat confirmed that investment decisions need to account for the embedded carbon from construction. It also requires all water companies to produce Strategic Direction Statements that provide a vision until For many water companies, this has included commitments on carbon reduction. For example, Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 25% by 2015, and by 50% by By setting up a local hub to recycle waste from small projects and recycling more than 1,000 tonnes of waste, 50 vehicle journeys were saved and 8 tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided. Material purchase and disposal cost savings are estimated at 20,000. In its Strategic Direction Statement, Anglian Water targets a 60% reduction in its carbon emissions by 2050, also acknowledging that the company can influence indirect carbon emissions embedded in construction materials and activities. 2. reduce carbon emissions by: reducing the transportation associated with construction works; avoiding waste production through trenchless technologies; making the most of in-situ materials and materials from small projects; and using locally available recycled aggregates rather than quarried aggregates from further away.

4 Utilities: Waste less and save money Taking the lead Sixteen utility companies have already signed the WRAP Utility Industry Agreement to reduce the waste sent to landfill from street works. This good practice can be readily extended to all construction works, including the construction and maintenance of power stations, distribution networks, gas storage facilities, telecoms networks, water holding, treatment and distribution systems, and waste water collection and treatment centres. Ofwat has set policies and procedures to enhance the sustainability of the water sector. In its 2008 Sustainable Development Report, Ofgem set out its expectation that companies would provide a reliable electricity or gas supply at the lowest possible cost and reducing costs by eliminating waste can help meet this expectation. 3. demonstrate integrated action with: requirements set out by regulators; corporate sustainability policies; local planning policies which support sustainable construction practices; environmental management systems with a need for continuous improvement; and initiatives for tackling office waste and for purchasing office supplies with a high recycled content. Actions on sustainable development are important priorities for local authorities often delivered through the planning processes. National guidance for planning authorities clearly states that waste should be used as a resource wherever possible. Diverting waste from landfill and reducing carbon emissions in utility asset management can form part of a continuous improvement process under office or project based environmental management systems. Offering incentives to contractors to reduce waste and use more recycled materials can help to galvanise interest in reaching and exceeding targets. The principles behind reducing office waste and using more recycled supplies can equally be applied in utilities infrastructure construction and maintenance; this demonstrates concerted action by the engineering departments, and is a good model for other departments. 4. address government drivers, such as: WRAP s Halving Waste to Landfill Commitment this voluntary commitment is backed by the Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government, and by many government departments in England; the joint industry/government Strategy for Sustainable Construction for England, which sets a target of halving construction, demolition and excavation waste to landfill by 2012; the Zero Waste Scotland vision, in addition to the Scottish Government having signed the Halving Waste to Landfill Commitment; and requirements by the Welsh Assembly Government, Northern Ireland Central Procurement Directorate and Scottish Government for publicly funded construction to use 10% by value of recycled materials.

5 Utilities: Waste less and save money Delivering the benefits through procurement The diagram below shows the activities for the client and principal contractor during the life cycle of a civil engineering or infrastructure project, and the tools that are available to help at each stage. Client and principal contractor actions to reduce waste to landfill Project stage Action what you need to do Outcome what result you will get WRAP tools Policy Make a commitment on construction waste and include requirements in policy documents Corporate commitment demonstrates resolve to the supply chain. Documents can be referred to in subsequent stages WRAP Procurement Guidance Preparation & Design Set Pre-qualification Questionnaire and Invitation to Tender questions that test design team members (engineers and consultants) capability and relevant experience Appoint design team members, mandating waste reduction & recovery targets Prospective design team members will bid, trying to demonstrate capability and relevant previous experience Design team will set contractually binding waste reduction & recovery targets WRAP Procurement Guidance Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) Template Designing out Waste Tool for Civil Engineering & Net Waste Tool AggRegain modules and directories The client tenders and appoints principal contractor, establishing actions and assigning responsibilities through formal contract Principal contractor will be contractually required to deliver waste to landfill objectives and will pass this requirement to their supply chain WRAP Procurement Guidance Designing out Waste Tool for Civil Engineering & Net Waste Tool Pre-construction & Construction The principal contractor tenders and appoints subcontractors and waste management contractors, establishes actions and assigns responsibilities through formal contact, via negotiation or agreements made at meetings Sub-contractors and waste management contractors sign up to responsibilities and actions to deliver project-specific targets on waste reduction / waste recovery / waste recycling and use of recovered materials SWMP Template Waste Management Contractor Audit Protocol Site-Specific Waste Analysis Tool (SSWAT) AggRegain modules and directories Handover, Postcompletion & Use Collect contractual data from construction supply chain on waste to landfill KPIs and metrics Supply chain will report on agreed resource efficiency performance targets in a common format. This will allow the calculation of project waste metrics, waste performance baseline and (if baseline known) reduction in waste to landfill Net Waste Tool Reporting Portal SWMP Template Site-Specific Waste Analysis Tool (SSWAT) The critical action is to provide leadership and direction to the supply chain, and to guide the project team to ensure that waste and materials are addressed, measured and reported throughout a contract.

6 Utilities: Waste less and save money Where can I get more information? An extensive array of guidance and information is freely available from WRAP. Policy Halving Waste to Landfill Commitment Procurement Procurement Guidance for Building and Civil Engineering Design Designing out Waste Guidance for Civil Engineering Utilities sector case studies including Standard Design Details Report Tools WRAP Resources guide Designing out Waste Tool for Civil Engineering Net Waste Tool Site Waste Management Plan Template WRAP AggRegain CO 2 Emissions Estimator Materials Recycled Product Directory WRAP AggRegain Recycled Aggregate Suppliers WRAP AggRegain Quality Protocol for Recycled Aggregates Other information sources include: Ofwat Ofgem Ofcom Reusing materials in-situ and buying recycled The refurbishment of the Hamilton wastewater treatment works recovered about 9,000 tonnes of materials worth about 65,000, 26% of the value of the non-metallic materials used. Excavated material was used in the construction of a bund, to shield the aeration tank from view. This avoided disposal of over 4500 m 3 of excavated material and saved the project 19,000 by eliminating primary fill materials. About 4 tonnes of CO 2 were avoided from material transport. The concrete in the aeration tank used ground granulated blast furnace slag to replace 45% of the cement, saving approximately 140 tonnes of CO 2. Analysis of water infrastructure standard design elements highlights a large number of design elements that can include recovered materials: aggregate pipe bedding; asphalt and subbase; concrete pipes and chambers; geosystems; mass and structural concrete; PVC pipes; topsoil; and trench backfill. While steps have been taken to ensure its accuracy, WRAP cannot accept responsibility or be held liable to any person for any loss or damage arising out of or in connection with this information being inaccurate, incomplete or misleading. This material is copyrighted. It may be reproduced free of charge subject to the material being accurate and not used in a misleading context. The source of the material must be identified and the copyright status acknowledged. This material must not be used to endorse or used to suggest WRAP s endorsement of a commercial product or service. For more details, please refer to our Terms & Conditions on our website Waste & Resources Action Programme The Old Academy 21 Horse Fair Banbury, Oxon OX16 0AH Tel: Fax: info@wrap.org.uk Helpline freephone