Waste Removal RAMS Guide for UK Contractors

Key Topics in a Waste Removal RAMS

Waste carrier registration and duty of care

Any contractor that transports construction waste — whether in a skip lorry, tipper truck, or van — must be registered as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency (or SEPA in Scotland, NRW in Wales). The duty of care under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires the waste producer to ensure that waste is only handed to a registered carrier and that waste transfer notes are completed for every transfer. The RAMS must confirm that the waste carrier is registered (registration number to be listed), that waste transfer notes will be completed and retained for two years for non-hazardous waste (three years for hazardous), and that the disposal site is a licensed facility for the waste type being removed.

Unknown and contaminated waste

Construction waste removal frequently encounters materials whose composition and hazard status are unknown: materials from demolition and strip-out may include ACMs, lead-based paint, PCBs, contaminated soil, or unlabelled drums. The RAMS must require that unknown materials are not removed until their hazard status has been determined — an asbestos analyst's report for suspected ACMs, a waste classification assessment for unknown chemical waste, or a soil contamination assessment for excavated material from brownfield sites. Removing hazardous waste as if it were inert waste is a criminal offence under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

Manual handling for construction waste

Construction waste is frequently awkward, heavy, and irregular in shape — rubble, timber with protruding nails, glass, plasterboard sheets, and metal offcuts. The RAMS must carry out a manual handling risk assessment for the specific waste streams being removed, specifying: the maximum load per operative (25 kg for a single lift as a guideline), team lift arrangements for loads between 25 and 50 kg, mechanical handling for loads over 50 kg (bucket grab, skip, sack truck or pallet truck), and PPE for handling sharp or contaminated materials (cut-resistant gloves, steel-toecap boots, dust mask where material is friable). The RAMS must prohibit manual handling of any material that may contain asbestos.

Vehicle loading and banksman controls

Loading tipper trucks, skip lorries, and grab vehicles on construction sites and public highways introduces vehicle-person conflict risk — particularly when reversing. The RAMS must require: a banksman in attendance for all reversing vehicle movements on site, a minimum 2 m exclusion zone behind any reversing vehicle (enforced by the banksman), confirmation that the vehicle is not overloaded beyond its plated weight (which affects braking and tyre stability), and that skip and tipper bodies are not filled above the vehicle's sides (risk of falling materials in transit). Vehicles leaving site must have no loose materials that could fall from the load — sheets or nets must be secured before the vehicle leaves the site boundary.