RSK’s Waste and Resources team supported our clients across the utility sector (including major water, telecoms and electricity providers) with their participation in recent Street Works UK (SWUK) Waste Sampling and Testing Study. The purpose of the study was to carry out sampling, chemical testing and waste classification and assessment of utilities excavation waste to provide the data needed to support the development of an industry-led risk-based protocol to replace the Environment Agency’s Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) 298 (formerly RPS 211), which currently allows non-hazardous classification of excavation waste without laboratory testing and chemical assessment. The study was completed across three phases between 2018 and 2024 with RSK providing the following technical support services to our clients
Excavation waste sampling training for non-specialists
Our team of specialists delivered excavation waste sampling training to our client’s staff on multiple occasions at locations across the UK. The training, lasting a full day, was delivered across two sessions comprised of an initial classroom presentation introducing the background and theory underpinning sampling of excavation waste followed by an excavation waste sampling demonstration at a ‘live’ utilities site operating under a Street works permit
Development of excavation waste sampling protocol
To support our clients staff undertaking excavation waste sampling in the field and to reinforce the technical content delivered as part of the excavated waste sampling training, our specialist team developed a series of excavation waste sampling protocols bespoke to our client’s requirements. The sampling protocols collated the key technical considerations to support collection of representative samples of excavation waste samples and were designed so they could function as a field reference guide for our client’s operatives tasked with undertaking sampling.
