As a small builder, am I legally obliged to have a Site Waste Management Plan?

There is currently no legal requirement for any building firm to have a Site Waste Management Plan (or SWMP) in place. However, this may change next year, as the Government is currently looking at proposals to make SWMPs mandatory for all construction projects over £250,000.

I've got a small building business, and I want to set up a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) - what's the best way to go about it?

SWMPs have no set format, and vary according to the size of building company or project. However, as a bare minimum, your SWMP should identify the following:

As you are responsible for the waste your company produces, you must ensure that whoever you use is disposing of your waste legally.

If you locate a waste collection company yourself, make sure you have checked their credentials thoroughly, or you could end up with a hefty fine.

In short – yes. It’s all too easy to say you didn’t know that the bloke who collects your waste was fly-tipping. That’s why it’s now an offence if your waste is fly-tipped.

So, for your own peace of mind, don’t cut corners, make sure you get the company or person checked out – it only takes a few minutes online, and it could save you a of stress and money in the long run.

Fly tipping is the illegal dumping of waste.

The law says that fly tipping can be anything from a bin bag of rubbish to large amounts of waste dumped by builders from trucks.

And it’s not just rubbish dumped on lay-bys or unused land that is illegal – fly-tipped waste can be found anywhere, even on roadsides.

Energy ratings are the latest Government gimmick to make people cut down the amount of fuel they use in their homes.

So how do they affect the builders who build those homes? Our Q&A should answer all your questions.