8 June 2004 - Project to Tackle High Levels of Construction Site Waste
An
announcement of a new project, has been made by the Employment Relations
Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, to cut the levels of Construction Site Waste, by
providing tools to Construction companies in order to improve the Health and
Safety on building sites, which in turn could save industry Millions of
pounds each year.
Companies who run these projects, working closely with sub-contractors and
trade unions, will not only benefit from a better understanding of
Environmental friendliness, but will have the knowledge that anyone joining
their site will be given the necessary Health and Safety information as part
of their induction.
The tools, which will include learning packs, the maintaining of Management
Partnerships and reporting success frameworks can only be beneficial to a
better understanding and practice in the safety, health and cost reduction
of all concerned.
Gerry Sutcliffe commented:
"Health and safety on construction sites must always be a top priority. I welcome this initiative for its direct approach to tackling safety and environmental concerns."
Project manager Uly Ma, of Greenfile Developments Ltd also commented:
"A
majority of the construction sector employs subcontractors and this means
that good practices learnt from one project may not be carried through to
another. Also, many of these small companies may not have the
resources to provide lifelong learning for their employees.
"We believe that significant cost savings, reduction in accidents and
minimising environmental impacts - the three components of sustainable
development - can be achieved through a well-organised and neat construction
site, coupled with teams that know how to spot waste and how to resolve
waste problems."
Other partners in the project are:
-
Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT)
-
Laing O'Rourke Scotland
-
Mowlem Building
-
CITB - Construction Skills, the Sector Skills Council for construction
-
Engineers Against Poverty - NGO focussing on multi-sector partnerships on sustainable development with international engineering service companies
-
Building Research Establishment - specialist in construction and sustainable development
-
Niall Marriott Associates - specialist in sustainable development and partnerships.
Further information about the Partnership Fund can be found on the DTI web site here.
