RPS 287 Update

29th November 2024

The recent RPS update published on the 23rd of October 2024, relating to treating and using water containing concrete at construction sites before use or disposal.

This RPS applies to storing, treating and using waste water containing concrete on a construction site before use or disposal. This can include water produced by washing out equipment such as concrete mixers, concrete batching plants, delivery lorries and related equipment such as chutes, pump lines, drums, wheelbarrows

What does this mean for customers?

If you are producing waste water containing concrete on your site, you must ensure the following is met and adhered to.

Storage

• Securely store the water, so the water cannot escape, and unauthorised people cannot access it.
• Contain the water before treatment and use, for example through an impermeable settling tank, engineered lagoon or leakproof skips.
• Maintain a freeboard of 10% of the capacity of the tank, engineered lagoon or leakproof skip to prevent overtopping.
• You must not store more than 30m3 of waste water containing concrete at any time in any single location on the construction site.

Treatment

• Filtration, settlement lagoons or physical dewatering, for example in a settlement tank, silt press or other specialised treatment system.
• Correcting the pH using solutions or carbon dioxide before use or lawful disposal.
• Using products that solidify water containing concrete prior to use or transfer from the construction site.

Use

• Monitor pH of the water containing concrete and keep records of compliance of the treated water prior to use or lawful disposal.
• Comply with your waste environmental permit or exemption if you want to use set concrete on the construction site.

Disposal

If the water under this RPS cannot be used on the construction site, then it must be legally discharged or transported off-site for treatment and disposal.

Before you discharge water containing concrete, you must take certain actions first. If you discharge to:

• The foul sewer – get the sewerage undertaker’s consent
• Surface water – get a water discharge activity permit
• Ground – get a groundwater activity permit unless you qualify for a groundwater activity exclusion after assessment from the local Groundwater and Contaminated Land team

If disposal off site is required, it will need to be disposed of under one of the following codes.

• Untreated – 16 10 01* aqueous liquid wastes containing hazardous substances
• Treated – 16 10 02 aqueous liquid wastes other than those mentioned in 16 10 01*

Go Green have various service options to support with compliance of this RPS, from Portable settlement tanks to tanker removal services. Please speak to your account management team, who will provide suitable options for your site and specific requirements.

For more information – https://www.gov.uk/government/

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