Government Decision on Construction Waste (No. 295 of 1997)

NB: Unofficial translation; legally binding texts are those in Finnish and Swedish Ministry of the Environment, Finland No. 295 GOVERNMENT DECISION ON CONSTRUCTION WASTE April 3, 1997 Section 1 Purpose and objective The purpose of this Decision is to reduce the quantity and harmfulness of construction waste and increase its recovery. The in dicative target to be aimed at is that an average of at least 50 per cent of all construction waste, except for soil, rock, and dredging waste, shall be recovered in the year 2000. Section 2 Scope of application This Decision applies to construction planning and to construction and waste deriving from it. This Decision does not apply to construction sites where the quantity of resulting construction waste other than soil, rock and dredging waste is not more than 5 tonnes, or where the quantity of soil, rock and dredging waste deriving from it is not more than 800 tonnes. Similarly, this Decision does not apply to packaging waste and contaminated soil waste. Section 3 Definitions For the purposes of this Decision: 1) construction shall mean the construction, repair and maintenance of a building or other immovable structure performed un der or above ground or in water, and the relevant installation, demolition and civil engineering work; 2) construction waste shall mean waste within the meaning of section 3, paragraph 1, subparagraph 1 of the Waste Act (1072/1993), other than ordinary household waste, generated at the construction site; 3) construction waste holder shall mean the producer of the construction waste, property holder, organizer or main implemen tor of construction or any other entrepreneur operating at the construction site who is in possession of the construction waste; and 4) main implementor shall mean the main contractor or, in the absence of such contractor, the client or other party directing and supervising the construction site. Section 4 Reducing quantity and harmfulness The main implementor shall, in cooperation with the planners, contractors and other parties to the construction project, plan and implement the construction in accordance with section 4 of the Waste Act, taking particular care to: 1) minimize the generation of construction waste and separate useable objects and substances from it, reusing them as far as possible; 2) use construction materials sparingly, replacing them as far as possible with waste suitable for construction purposes; and 3) ensure that construction waste generated does not result in hazard or harm to health or the environment, or does not signifi cantly hamper or complicate the organization of waste management. Section 5 Organization of reclamation and recovery Construction must be so planned and implemented and the construction waste so collected and transported that the recoverable waste and the following waste types are kept separate, or are separated from each other and other construction waste: 1) concrete, brick, mineral tile, ceramic and gypsum wastes; 2) non-impregnated wood wastes; 3) metal wastes; and 4) soil, rock and dredging wastes. The construction waste holder must see to it that the construction waste is recovered if this is technically feasible and does not entail excessive additional cost compared with waste management organized otherwise. A construction waste holder other than the main implementor must take the action referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 above in cooperation with the main implementor. Section 6 Reference provision Provisions concerning coercive measures and sanctions for violation of this Decision are laid down in chapter 10 of the Waste Act. Section 7 Entry into force This Decision comes into force on June 1, 1997. This Decision shall apply as of January 1, 1998 in the case of a construction project where the construction work has begun be fore this Decision comes into effect.