Value management helps prevent waste
The design team and principal contractor for the Woolwich Civic Centre reduced material consumption and wastage through
design coordination and the reuse of demolition materials.
Project details
Savings
The new Woolwich Centre will house a service centre, library, council
offices, café and business centre. The design consists of a steel-framed
structure built around two main concrete cores. The plant area covers
the entire rooftop, on top of which is a feature glazed gallery.
Almost 1.95% of construction value was saved through:
 design optimisation;
 using demolition materials on site; and
 reducing wastage rates.
Having set an ambitious target to eliminate waste to landfill Wates
Construction understands the need for a coordinated approach to waste
management from the design stage through to completion. Driven by
client requirements, actions were taken by Wates and the design team to
prevent and reduce wastage and increase reuse and recycling, including:
 reuse of demolition waste in the foundations and piling mat;
 modularisation and pre-fabrication of some building elements;
 early design coordination to reduce the quantity of steelwork and precast concrete, reducing material costs; and
 good practice waste management on site.
Materials purchase cost saving through reuse of
demolition materials
£83,400
Materials cost saving through design optimisation
£775,300
Materials cost saving through reducing wastage rates
£130,300
Waste disposal cost reduction through reuse of
demolition materials and reducing wastage rates
£100,400
Key benefits were:
 cost savings through reduced material specification and reduced
wastage;
 reduced disposal costs;
 the ability to provide the client with a competitive price based on the
waste strategy implemented; and
 reduced environmental impact.
Total saving
£1,089,400
forward
Overview
Design stage
Reuse
Waste reduction
and recovery
Cost savings and
lessons learned
Exemplar Case Study
page 1
Value management helps prevent waste: Woolwich Civic Centre
Waste prevention at the outline design stage
Waste prevention at the detailed design stage
In line with client requirements, the Woolwich Centre has several
architectural design features that keep material requirements and waste
arisings to a minimum. These include:
The client required that the project provide value for money. This
provided Wates with an opportunity to review and rationalise the design.
The review resulted in significant cost savings through reduced material
specification. Several decisions were taken to reduce project costs,
reduce construction time and prevent waste arisings, including:
 all floors based around a repetitive grid pattern, using prefabricated
beams throughout;
 internal columns left exposed as architectural features;
 internal circular hollow section (CHS) members placed one inside the
other and filled with concrete;
 use of timber floor infill to keep the viewing gallery’s steel floor
structure as light as possible;
 exposed concrete soffits; and
 modular off-site construction of floor-based service distribution.
 design review and coordination of steelwork in the viewing gallery,
reducing steelwork by 11.5 tonnes; and
 design review and coordination of concrete floor slabs, reducing
concrete by 105m3
Together, these design solutions have a significant impact on material
resource efficiency. For example, the concrete-filled steel columns save
nearly half the weight of steel compared with a traditional column section,
and avoid the need for post-applied fire protection. Exposed concrete
soffits replace suspended ceilings, significantly reducing material costs.
“The cost of materials and waste can be reduced significantly
by interrogating the design, looking for opportunities to
reuse materials, and managing waste on site. It’s just good
value management.”
Value management is closely aligned with materials resource efficiency.
The design review improved materials resource efficiency by reducing
the quantity of materials required. Fewer materials on site also means
less wastage is likely to be produced and disposal costs will be lower.
The design solutions applied by the design team and the principal
contractor align with the principles set out in WRAP’s ‘Designing out
Waste: a design team guide for buildings’.
The impact of these solutions on the cost of materials and wastage is set
out in the final section of this case study.
Dave Nott, Project Director, Wates Construction
back : forward
Design stage
Overview
Reuse
Waste reduction
and recovery
Cost savings and
lessons learned
Exemplar Case Study
page 2
Value management helps prevent waste: Woolwich Civic Centre
Reuse of demolition and excavation waste
Building on a brownfield site, Wates was determined to extend best
practice waste management to the re-use of demolition materials
wherever possible. A ‘salvage’ approach to demolition was carried out at
a comparable price to traditional demolition, within programme and
safely.
Wates took the following steps in their ‘salvage’ approach to demolition:
A large proportion of demolition materials were reclaimed and/or
reused, including:
 100 pallets of London stock bricks reclaimed;
 10 pallets of roof slates reclaimed;
 5,600 tonnes of concrete recycled into aggregate and used on site;
and
 350 tonnes of metal recycled off site
 a pre-demolition inspection was undertaken and a plan developed to
reclaim materials with value;
 the building frame was crushed on site and the recycled aggregates
used to form a piling mat;
 concrete and general rubble were crushed and sieved for use in the
foundations;
 London stock bricks were separated, cleaned and palletised for sale
through reclamation yards;
 roof slates were carefully removed and loaded into crates for sale
through reclamation yards;
 scrap metals and recyclable timbers were segregated and removed
for recycling; and
 parquet flooring and PVC windows were carefully removed and
transported off-site for reuse or recycling.
back : forward
Reuse
Overview
Design stage
Waste reduction
and recovery
Cost savings and
lessons learned
Exemplar Case Study
page 3
Value management helps prevent waste: Woolwich Civic Centre
Construction stage – waste reduction and recovery
Ensuring good practice on site
Wates Construction regularly diverts more than 90% of waste from landfill
as a result of site initiatives.
On-site education
Waste management was included in induction sessions for all employees
including labourers and site managers. This improved awareness of waste
reduction and segregation on site.
Waste forecasts for the Woolwich Centre were produced with help from
sub-contractors and incorporated in the Site Waste Management Plan.
Although there was little space on site for segregation, several actions
were taken to increase recovery and diversion from landfill:
 waste materials were sent to the Materials Recovery Facility
operated by Powerday Waste Contractors, where recovery rates
of >98% were achieved;
 an agreement was made with Powerday to provide site-specific
recycling tonnages and percentages;
 Wates arranged for waste disposal for most sub-contractor
generated waste; and
 shared deliveries between subcontractors and take back
schemes improved site housekeeping and waste logistics.
Bins accessibility
Labelled wheelie bins were provided on all floors for inert, plasterboard
and timber waste.
Contra charging of sub-contractors
Wates includes a waste management document in sub-contractor tender
invitations. It is common practice on Wates sites to charge a fee if the
principal contractor’s labour is used to clear a sub-contractor’s rubbish.
The system is effective in motivating sub-contractors to clear their own
waste.
In-office waste
All the paper, cardboard and plastics used on site for office activities were
segregated and recycled.
Segregation yard visit
Wates had the opportunity to visit Powerday’s yard, to check that
operations were in line with their targets and requirements.
Overview
Design stage
Reuse
Waste reduction
and recovery
back : forward
Cost savings and
lessons learned
Exemplar Case Study
page 4
Value management helps prevent waste: Woolwich Civic Centre
Waste and cost savings
The project achieved substantial savings on materials procured and
disposal costs. Savings on material costs were estimated by quantity
surveyors using standard rates. Disposal cost savings were calculated
using the disposal cost rates in WRAP’s Net Waste Tool.
Wates was able to anticipate the potential savings provided by their waste
strategy and provide the client with a competitive price for the works.
Materials cost savings
Wates estimated that 300 fewer demolition lorries left the site as a result
of re-using demolition materials. In addition, less new material needed to
be purchased.
Cost savings through reuse of demolition materials
Cost of
new
Key actions
Disposal
cost
Savings
Crushed concrete in piling mat
£51,800
£46,000
£97,800
Crushed concrete & rubble in
foundations
£31,600
£29,000
£60,600
Net cost savings through design solutions
New
materials
Key actions
Concrete-filled columns
Materials
wasted
£351,600
£45,000
11.5 tonnes less steelwork
£20,700
-
105m3 less in-situ concrete
£11,500
-
£340,200
£6,300
Exposed soffits
Cost savings through on site waste management
The potential savings made through site based initiatives to reduce
and segregate waste were modelled using WRAP’s Net Waste Tool.
Key actions
Baseline
Waste
arisings (t)
Value of
wasted
materials
Waste to
Landfill (t)
Disposal
cost
1,820
900
£217,060
£57,880
Good practice
870
230
393,552
£32,500
Actual practice
727
7.2
£86,800
1,093
893
£130,260
*cost of alternative design compared to cost of traditional design
Savings through design solutions were modelled by WRAP wherever
reasonable assumptions could be made. It was not possible to estimate
the savings from the use of pre-fabricated floor-based services distribution
as the effects on programme and design were complex.
Overview
Design stage
Reuse
Savings*
£25,380
*the difference between actual practice and baseline practice (with the exception of
disposal cost which is the difference between good practice and baseline practice)
Waste reduction
and recovery
Cost savings and
lessons learned
back : forward
Exemplar Case Study
page 5
Value management helps prevent waste: Woolwich Civic Centre
Lessons learned
Identify materials with reclamation value as early as possible
Provided opportunities are identified early, demolition materials can often
be reclaimed safely and within programme, with potential cost benefits
through reuse.
Engage the supply chain to ensure targets are met
Clear communication of targets and procedures, backed up by regular
checks, reinforces key messages around waste reduction and changes site
culture.
Prevent waste through design
Assessing potential reuse opportunities early in the design phase can bring
substantial reductions in waste, and reduce the consumption of new
materials.
Test claims of waste contractors to ensure high recovery
By selecting a competent waste contractor who can guarantee recycling
rates and accurate reporting, principal contractors can have confidence
that waste taken off site will be diverted from landfill.
Consider how value management links to materials resource efficiency
The design team and principal contractor can play an important role in the
value management process. This can provide important benefits through
reduced material purchasing and wastage.
Overview
Design stage
Reuse
Waste reduction
and recovery
Cost savings and
lessons learned
back : forward
Exemplar Case Study
page 6
For more information, visit www.wrap.org.uk/construction
You can access:
 a range of other exemplar and cost benefit case studies;
 procurement guidance and model wording;
 the Net Waste Tool and Designing out Waste tools (free online tools for quantifying waste
arisings on construction projects);
 WRAP’s Site Waste Management Plan Template; and
 guidance on Designing out Waste.
While steps have been taken to ensure its accuracy, WRAP cannot accept responsibility or be held liable to any person
for any loss or damage arising out of or in connection with this information being inaccurate, incomplete or misleading.
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Waste & Resources
Action Programme
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