Case Study on Managing Construction Waste Effectively:

• Sector: Construction & Demolition Waste.
• Name of Partners: Sisk Building Contractors & Limerick City Council.
• Location: Limerick City.

Aims of The project:

The central aim of this project was to assess the management of construction waste in an urban development and to determine whether a programme could be successfully introduced to conserve materials, reuse products and prevent waste from being produced throughout the construction phase of a large mixed use development.

Project Description:

Sisk Building Contractors were the principal lead contractor for the Savoy Development which was undertaken between 2007 and 2008 and consisted of the construction of a 100 bed hotel with bar and leisure facilities, 95 residential apartments and 14 retail units.

The development was taking place in the heart of Limerick City and access onto the site was via one of busiest streets in the city centre. The waste management area was very restricted and was only a fraction of the size it would have been given if construction had taken place on a green field site.

Sisk personnel as well as all subcontractors to the site were expected to adhere to the environmental and waste policy put in place to prevent waste arisings as well as to reuse as much construction material as possible.

Achievements & Lessons:

The waste costs for the Savoy Development were equivalent to 0.45% of the total cost of the development; this was an excellent result as this site presented particular challenges due its location and lack of space.

51% of all waste arisings were recycled, due primarily to the very high level of segregation achieved on the site.

Sisk had a waste collection permit and access to a vehicle which allowed them to move much of the waste themselves and this degree of flexibility also reduced costs.

All personnel on site were aware of the waste protocol and were subjected to frequent “toolbox talks” on waste prevention, signage about waste was clear and concise and presented in more than one language.

Photos from this case study can be viewed in the Photo Gallery.

More Information:
Contact The Waste Prevention Team at rwmo@limerickcoco.ie.