Government clampdown on bureaucracy set to kill Site Waste Management Plans
Just over four years ago, there was just one single topic of conversation on the lips of UK demolition contractors – The introduction of the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) directive; a formalised way in which to plan and track the demolition waste stream and, thereby, minimise waste to landfill.
Of course, anyone that knows anything about demolition realised at the time that this was a paper-based cure for a non-existent malady. Demolition contractors – particularly those in the UK – send waste to landfill with all the enthusiasm with which an 11-year old girl sends her favourite gymkhana pony to the local glue factory.
But like it does with every unnecessary, onerous and burdensome item of legislation heaped upon its shoulders, the UK demolition industry embraced SWMPs. Individual companies formed working groups and committees to ensure that they fully understood the new directive and its likely implications; the National Federation of Demolition Contractors and the Institute of Demolition Engineers dedicated great swathes of their seminar and committee time to ensuring that members did not fall foul of this latest red tape trap. And a number of consultants and training providers enjoyed a pre-recession spike in their profits, talking companies and their employees through the legal minefield with which each new item of legislation is accessorised.
Yet it now looks as though all of that was for nothing.
The UK government – which is currently enjoying the same level of national popularity as the song “Blue Moon” enjoys in the red half of Manchester – is doing its level best to court business and, of course, the vote of the business community. But, unlike previous governments, it is not in a position to buy those votes with reduced taxes and increased grant funding.
Faced with a level of national debt that would normally cause Bono to arrange a benefit concert, the government has instead turned its attention to the removal of bureaucracy and administrative burdens as part of its Red Tape Challenge. And one of the key items of red tape in the government’s sights appears to be Site Waste Management Plans.
Although it has yet to be confirmed, it seems that the SWMPs are destined for the legislative scrap heap sooner rather than later, along with a host of 52 other less-than-useful rules, regulations and directives.
Of course, few in the UK demolition business will mourn the passing of Site Waste Management Plans; most were following the same rules prior to the introduction of SWMPs and will continue to do so long after this additional paper trail has been swept away.
But most will also curse the bitter irony of the time, effort and money wasted on a directive that was introduced to minimise waste.
