Construction Waste

Under Waste legislation, construction and demolition waste is defined as all waste that arises from construction, renovation and demolition activities, and includes the following: 

• Soil and stone
• Surplus and damaged products
• Materials from construction works
• Materials used during on-site activities
• Dredge spoil and these can be hazardous 

Your responsibilities if you are carrying out a construction and demolition project:  

• You have a waste management plan for all waste generated from this activity.
• It must be segregated so that it can be reused, recycled or disposed of in an appropriate way.
• Where it cannot be reused or recycled, the waste must be transported to authorised waste facilities using the services of authorised waste collectors.  

The best practice guidelines for the preparation of resource and waste management plans for construction and demolition projects are available here.  

Circular economy checklists for the construction sector are available here.  

For Environmental Protection Agency document on Waste Classification which includes the List of Wastes (formerly European Waste Catalogue EWC) and other List of Waste guidance documents, click here.  

In summary you will need to:  

• Estimate the amount of waste to be generated.
• Ensure that wastes generated on site must be segregated into individual types, where possible.
• Ensure that all waste moved off site, including soil and stone must be:
• Collected by authorised waste collectors (as authorised by the National Waste Collection Permit Office).
• Transported to authorised waste facilities. A list of authorised sites per local authority area and a List of Waste Code is available from the Local Authority Waste Facility Register. 
• Records must be maintained on site to prove the waste has been managed correctly. The records must be retained for a minimum period of 7 years.