Materials Management Plans and Waste

Classification of Waste

Materials management plans, characterisation and classification of waste materials play important roles when a decision is required on the most appropriate, and efficient, waste management approaches (Waste, Materials, CL:AIRE QP).

Whilst simple excavation and disposal of soil is still common practice in the construction industry, rising disposal costs and requirement to reduce environmental impacts, are driving the reduction of site waste materials to landfill. You can download our helpful Materials Reuse Flowchart here: ESP Material Reuse Flowchart.

We are able to provide the support required in order to derive the most appropriate sampling, laboratory testing and assessment of materials, including options appraisals in line with the Waste Hierarchy (Prevention, Minimisation, Reuse, Recycling and Disposal).

Our detailed understanding of materials composition and geoenvironmental quality, allows the design of suitable handling, treatment and, required disposal options (where unavoidable).  The assessments are undertaken in line with current standards and waste management legislation, including the European Directive List of Wastes (Commission Decision 2000/532/EC), Annex III to Directive 2008/98/EC and Interpretation of the Definition and Classification of Hazardous Waste (WM2). WM2 has been produced for use by anyone involved in the producing, management and regulation of hazardous waste and outlines the key requirements in the assessment and designation of waste materials.  WM2 also includes a series of waste classification codes, often referred to as LoW (List of Wastes) or EWC (European Waste Catalogue) codes for both hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.

Working with our UKAS accredited laboratory and utilising dedicated assessment techniques we can offer a range of geoenvironmental testing as part of Waste Assessment Criteria (WAC) classification, ranging from soil screening through to detailed soils classification.

Material Management Plans

The classification of excavated materials on a development site allows an assessment of its potential suitability for re-use in accordance CL:AIRE Definition of Waste Development Industry Code of Practice (DoWCoP).

This creates a sustainable means of re-use of excavated and treated materials on development sites without the materials being designated as waste. In addition to the environmental benefits, this can lead to significant savings and ‘unlock’ previously cost prohibiting elements for developers (residential to commercial).

To do this a Material Management Plan (MMP) is required and ESP has extensive experience in designing, organising and auditing these. The MMP usually accompanies a remediation strategy or a design statement and documents the objectives relating to the use of the materials.

In broad terms, the MMP must demonstrate:

• The materials will not have any detrimental environmental or human health effects at the proposed receiver. The level of assessment will vary dependant on the contamination status of the donor soils however this has successfully been achieved previously by Earth Science Partnership for receiver sites of varying sensitivity;
• The materials are suitable for the intended purpose, i.e. specified chemical and geotechnical properties set by the receiver are met;
• Certainty of use for the quantity of material specified is confirmed.

Upon completion, a verification plan is produced to validate the works have been undertaken in accordance with the MMP, and have achieved the design/remediation objectives. ESP have experience in validating MMPs designed by ourselves and other specialists.

Earth Science Partnership is qualified to review MMPs prepared in line with the DoWCoP, and to then submit the required Declaration which allows the works outlined by the MMP to commence.

CL:AIRE Qualified Person

The role of the Cl:aire Qualified Person (QP) is fundamental to the application of the Cl:aire Code of Practice (DoWCoP) and is primarily to provide confidence to EA/NRW that best practice is being followed, and that there is an effective audit trail relating to what is planned.

Our Giles Sommerwill (QP:299) and Hywel Davies are qualified and registered QPs, and therefore qualified to review MMPs prepared in line with the DoWCoP, and to then submit the required Declaration which allows the works outlined by the MMP to commence.