Contractors may charge subcontractors or drop them from future work if they fail to hit targets for site waste

Wates and Bovis Lend Lease are among those working with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the government鈥檚 waste quango, to cut the amount of waste sent to landfill by their supply chain.

The moves came as chancellor Alistair Darling announced in last week鈥檚 Budget that landfill taxes would be raised by 拢8 a tonne every April until at least 2013. At that point the levy will have reached 拢72 a tonne.

Wates is at an early stage of developing a financial system with WRAP that would measure subcontractors鈥� performance against 鈥渃hallenging鈥� waste levels.

Rachel Woolliscroft, Wates鈥� group sustainability manager, said: 鈥淪ubcontractors would be incentivised both financially and through increased work on our projects; or penalised financially and through falling down our supplier list.鈥�

Wates鈥� Target:Zero programme aims to send no non-hazardous waste to landfill by 2010.

I think it鈥檚 the only way to get subbies and suppliers to give more focus to this issue

Rachel Woolliscroft, Wates

Woolliscroft added: 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 the only way to get subbies and suppliers to give more focus to this issue. Money talks.鈥�

Bovis has refused to rule out charging and relegating suppliers and specialists as it works out how to achieve a 70% cut by 2010 in the 600,000 of waste sent to landfill in 2007.

Paul Toyne, Bovis鈥� head of sustainability, said: 鈥淲ould it be the difference between getting the next job and not getting it? We are considering all options.鈥�

As of last year, all building projects over 拢300,000 have had to have a site waste management plan (SWMP) containing details on the type and quantity of waste generated on site.

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