The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) believes that if the UK Government doesn’t give a clear definition of what constitutes as waste, then reviews like the recent one into the Inert Waste Regulations by DEFRA will continue to fall short.

Commenting on the review Stephen Wielebski a CIOB Ambassador said: “In principle, we are supportive of a more risk-based and proportionate approach to the regulation of inert waste, and we commend DEFRA for taking the initiative to that end. However, the CIOB has a number of concerns with the proposals in the discussion document and we believe the opportunity to do something meaningful could be missed unless the Government clearly defines what is, and what isn’t, waste.

“We feel the proposals could expose the construction industry to a duplicate and uncertain approval process under the emerging Environmental Permitting regime.

Equally, it fails to address two issues that are of intrinsic importance to UK construction – the need for clarity on the UK Government’s definition of waste, and the availability of a comprehensive series of Soil Guideline Values (SGV’s).

“The aim of the review is to provide a more risk-based and proportionate approach to the regulation of inert waste, and we are keen to work with DEFRA to achieve this.”

A full copy of the CIOB’s submission on the review of Inert Waste Regulation is available at www.ciob.org/about/ciobpolicies

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