This note, GEN 29, originally published in November 1999, was reviewed by Patrick Nolan in September 2004. This paper is now considered out of date and will be republished in due course.
When the BEDP Environment Design Guide editor invited me to contribute a note titled ‘Waste Minimisation and Building Design Professionals it was with two outcomes in mind. The first was to draft an industry perspective on the performance of professional designers’ in minimising construction and demolition waste through design. The second was to stimulate debate between design professionals on their past and future involvement in minimising waste through design. I have endeavoured to express my concerns and criticised wastefulness where I see it, encouraging efficiency and effort with equal fervour, and this note remains a personal narrative as much as an industry perspective.