Clarifying the classification of waste soils in construction
This lunch time webinar will explore both the legal requirements and the common misunderstanding that people have with respect to the classification of waste soils in construction projects.
Background
Waste soils are one of the largest waste streams in the UK. However the correct classification of waste soils, as either a hazardous or non-hazardous waste, is one of the biggest causes of dubious classifications or of miss-classification.
In many construction projects, the financial risk for the disposal of soils, in particular hazardous soils, is often not assessed in a timely manner and is placed on the contractor who wins the contract. The developer may have paid for the phase I/II type investigations and completed site characterisation work including geotechnical assessments and human health risk assessments to get through the planning stage. In this work, the consultant may have offered some level of preliminary waste classification assessment based on the SI data collected, but this assessment has to be limited because:
a) the data was collected (paid for) for site characterisation purposes and not waste disposal assessments,
b) the SI may have identified contamination but not fully delineated it and
c) the locations of the test pits/boreholes and the depths of any samples, may bear no relationship to the physical mass of waste soil that needs to be excavated and disposed of.
At the tender stage, with the building design now complete but no further delineation or assessment of any hazardous soils, the bidder has to either pay for more sampling and classification, at their own risk (both in terms of cost and turnaround time), or take a different risk based on the assessment of the limited sampling data contained in the tender package.
At the construction stage, a different team takes over the project, a project with a tight schedule and budget and where the waste characterisation of surplus (non-CLAIRE CoP) soils, fill and blacktop materials may not be prioritised or properly defined in the management plan. This is further compounded by the ground worker going in and mixing hazardous materials with non-hazardous soils and placing them in a stockpile for disposal. The outcome is a stockpile containing a mixture of hazardous and non-hazardous materials - that has to be off site tomorrow – and you need a waste classification.
Why attend?
This webinar will explain:
- The Environment Agency’s view on waste classification particularly the classification of hazardous and non-hazardous waste soils
- The law and waste soil
- What the Environment Agency is expecting in a Waste Classification Package
- The (legal) responsibility of the producer
- Why waste classification has to be planned for at the beginning of a project, not at the end
- Different management issues
- Review some of the common mistakes people make when classifying waste soils including:
- Why landfill WAC data must not be used for waste classification
- Why a “Standard analysis suite” should be called “Minimum analysis suite”
- Why you can’t use simple rules of thumb or a list of thresholds concentrations of
e.g. metals, to assess a waste – explaining additivity
- Why you mustn’t use the individual TPH-CWG bands to assess an unknown oil
- How should your waste be classified - the creation of a Waste Classification
Package
Programme
13.00 Introduction and welcome
13.10 EA’s view on waste classification, Cathryn Jones, Environment Agency
13.30 Waste classification, Ian Bishop, HazWasteOnline
13.50 Questions and discussion
14.20 Close
Who should attend?
Consultants, contractors, clients, local authorities, regulators
When
31 Jan 2018
13:00 - 14:20
Price
This webinar is free for LACL and BRMF members
All others £35+VAT
Booking
If you are experiencing issues registering for this event online please contact us on 020 7549 3300 or email
[email protected].