This working group was set up following the 2021 RemSoc conference to help support the remediation industry to understand what best practice in the verification of materials management looks like.

The working Group is being led by Tom Simpson (Keltbray) and George Evans (Soilfix) and the Terms of Reference (provided below) have been agreed by the Steering Committee.

Terms of Reference

Why is it being completed?

CL:AIRE Definition of Waste Code of Practice (DoWCoP) Materials Management Plans (MMPs) are an industry mainstay, being the simplest, quickest and often the most sustainable way to re-use and import materials which would otherwise be disposed of as waste. Recent CL:AIRE audit data has highlighted materials tracking and verification are areas needing improvement.

This finding is concerning as the tracking of materials and their verification is essential to demonstrate the reused material should not be considered a waste and attract landfill tax. The verification process needs to be planned ahead and start immediately upon excavation of materials. It should include details on where materials were produced, any treatment and their final fate (whether offsite or onsite). Supporting evidence should provide an auditable trail.

Although the code of practice sets out the information that needs to be gathered as part of the tracking process, the CL:AIRE audit results indicate a number of declarations are not tracking materials nor verify the works to a satisfactory standard.  The Environment Agency position statement on DoWCoP indicates that the information provided will be taken into account in deciding whether material is waste or not. Therefore, if the tracking of material movements and verification of the works is below the expected standard, the verification loop is not closed and the re-used materials remain a waste.

The development of the Practitioners Guide is aimed to provide practical guidance on materials tracking from planning materials management plan through to its verification.

What do we intend to accomplish?

The Practitioners Guide will accomplish the following key objectives:

• Highlight what needs to be considered with respect to material tracking and verification (this could be a simple checklist)
• Provide clear practical guidance on planning, delivery and verification of materials tracking remaining cognisant of the spectrum of DoWCoP declarations (with respect to both size and complexity);
• Provide “real world” of examples tracking systems, identifying limitations;
• Help practitioners link their material tracking to the verification process.

Who will be involved?

The aim is to attract a practitioners and stakeholders who are involved in the implementation of DoWCoP across the broadest spectrum of projects (with respect to both size and complexity). This will be key to having this guidance accepted and used by the industry, ensuring it is not limited to a certain type of implementation.

NOTE: RemSoc has had very early discussions with CL:AIRE with respect to collaborating on the framework. However, at the time of writing this terms of reference these discussions have not been concluded.  As a minimum a draft copy of the Practitioners Guide will be provided to CL:AIRE for comment prior to wider distribution.

Frequency of meetings

The key members will meet every four weeks but, if necessary, more frequently.

Minutes to be issued following each meeting clearly presenting discussion points and actions.

What will be the output?

The objective of the working group will be to produce a best practice “go-to” guidance document on materials tracking/verification to support members implementing DoWCoP.  Therefore, it must be concise and provide details on real-world implementation/ scenarios.

Suggested title of the document is “A practitioners guide to materials tracking under DoWCoP”

At the outset envisage the document would include the following:

1. Introduction: State the purpose of the document and its primary focus on materials tracking and verification. It would summarise the specific requirements and principles of DoWCoP related to materials tracking and verification….which are then expanded on in the following sections;
2. Planning Phase: Conceptualising the site and optimal materials movements, sustainability considerations, space requirements, number of different material streams, expected volumes, production rates, data sets for different materials, supplementary data requirements prior to works, tool box talks, acceptance/rejection procedures, resources, temporary works design, environmental impacts, earthworks specification;
3. Implementation Phase: This section would expand on the requirements already outlined in DoWCoP covering tracking systems, plans/drawings, inspection procedures, field tests (geotechnical & contamination), lab testing (geotechnical & contamination), surveys, treatment, technologies (without being too prescriptive); and
4. Verification: Verification of each activity would be picked up during the above (e.g. a “data outputs” section that could be included for each of aspects discussed). This closing section/statement will demonstrate how the overall process falls in line with DoWCoP.