Policy information sourced from the Richmond Upon Thames Local Plan

Policy 7 Waste and the Circular Economy (Strategic Policy)

Waste

A. The Council will ensure waste is managed in accordance with the principles of the Circular economy

  1. All developments, including conversions and changes of use are required to provide adequate refuse and recycling storage space and facilities for the separate collection of dry recyclables (card, paper, mixed plastics, metals, glass) and food, which allows for ease of collection and which residents and occupiers can easily access, in line with the guidance and advice set out in the Council’s SPD on Refuse and Recycling Storage Requirements.
  2. All developments need to ensure that the management of waste, including the location and design of refuse and recycling facilities, is sensitively integrated within the overall design of the scheme, in accordance with policies on Local Character and Design.
  3. Where appropriate development proposals should make use of the rail and the waterway network for the transportation of construction, demolition and other waste. Development proposals in close proximity to the river should utilise the river for the transport of construction materials and waste where practicable. Transporting goods by water can mean lower carbon emissions whilst also removing vehicles from the roads, subject to vessels using ideally zero carbon or low carbon technologies.
  4. All major developments and engineering works, and where appropriate developments that are likely to generate large amounts of waste, are required to produce site waste management plans to arrange for the efficient handling of construction, excavation and demolition waste and materials. A Construction Environment Management Plan (CEMP) is required for all development using the river to transport construction materials and waste.

B. The borough’s waste sites are safeguarded. Proposals affecting existing waste management sites, as well as proposals for new or additional waste management facilities, will be assessed against the policies of the West London Waste Plan and the London Plan.

Circular economy

C. A circular economy is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them while in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life.

  1. All development proposals are required to adopt a circular economy approach to building design and construction to reduce waste, to keep materials and products in use for as long as possible, and to minimise embodied carbon. All development should:
    • Prioritise the reuse and retrofit of existing buildings wherever possible before considering the design of new buildings.
    • Be designed for durability and flexibility as well as easy disassembly and reuse to minimise waste during the ‘in-use’ and ‘end of life’ phases of the development. Building shape and form should be designed to minimise embodied carbon and limit the need for repair and replacement.
    • Ensure resource efficiency and reduce embodied carbon emissions by sourcing and prioritising materials that can easily be maintained, repaired and renewed across the development lifetime.
    • d. Minimise the environmental impact of materials by specifying sustainably-sourced, low impact and re-used or recycled materials; this should include identifying opportunities for the retention and reuse of existing materials on site (e.g. re-using demolition material on site). Materials should be locally-sourced wherever possible to minimise transport emissions.
  2. All development resulting in the creation of 10 or more dwellings or 500sqm or more non-residential GIA must submit a Circular Economy Statement utilising the guidance and principles set out by the GLA (Conserve resources, increase efficiency and source sustainably, Design to eliminate waste (and for ease of maintenance) and Manage waste sustainably and at the highest value) and undertake a Whole Life-Cycle Carbon assessment proportionate to the scale of development and demonstrate that whole life-cycle carbon savings have been maximised.

For more information please see the Richmond Upon Thames Local Plan