Street Works Waste

Regulatory Position Statement 211: Excavated waste from utilities installation and repair has now been replaced with two new Regulatory Position Statements:

• Classify excavated waste from street and utility works: RPS 298 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Storing and managing excavated waste from street works: RPS 299 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 These are briefly summarised below:

Classify excavated waste from street and utility works: RPS 298

• Applies to excavated waste produced through road and street works where sampling is not possible before removing the waste (where you cannot legally access the site to carry out preliminary sampling before you start excavation works)
• It applies when work is undertaken under ‘immediate’, ‘minor’ and ‘standard’ permits following the New Roads and Streets Works Act
• It does not apply to hazardous waste including asbestos and materials with an odour of coal tar or other petroleum hydrocarbons
• If you produce less than 15m3 of waste you can move it as non-hazardous without a WM3 waste assessment
• You must separate the waste by code type during excavation and transport (for example the bituminous layer 17 03 02 and the sub-base 17 09 04 must be kept separate)
• If you produce more than 15m3 of waste it must be consigned as hazardous and moved using a hazardous waste consignment note

Storing and managing excavated waste from street works: RPS 299

• Applies to permitted waste facilities and those operating under a non-waste framework directive exemption
• It allows the site to accept and store the mirror-hazardous versions of the wastes listed in the RPS where the permit only allows the corresponding non-hazardous codes
• The site must update their management system to explain how these additional wastes will be managed
• Wastes must be stored separately by waste code (for example the bituminous layer 17 03 02 and the sub-base 17 09 04 must be kept separate) and by the process producing the waste (street works separate from non-street works)
• Waste that has been classified as hazardous under RPS 298 must be sampled and tested in line with WM3

It is strongly recommended that coring is carried out prior to milling operations, as this will identify the location and depth of any hazardous properties present. This information is used for structural condition and layer thickness assessment and could also be used to manage any milling operations to minimise the risk of bitumen bound and tar bound materials being inadvertently mixed.

These Regulatory Position Statements have been put in place as it is recognised that sometimes sites cannot be accessed to undertake coring or works are undertaken in an emergency.

If you are likely to undertake this type of work, please read the RPS beforehand.