When you receive a questionnaire on waste and materials, it's easy to think a new registration system is needed. Usually that's not the case. An authorized waste processor or collector already records for each removal which waste stream it is, how much weight was collected and where it goes. That weighing note or waste removal certificate is the starting point, not something you need to keep track of yourself.
The work mainly lies in gathering those documents and linking them to the rest of the construction process: what was purchased, what was processed on the construction site and what was left over. This creates a picture that a buyer, bank or insurer can use, without you setting up a separate administration system.
What your waste processor already records
An authorized collector or processor works with its own registration, often in the form of a waste register or a digital transport document for each shipment. It contains the EWC code of the waste stream, the weight, the date and the destination: incineration, landfill, recycling or reuse. For construction and demolition waste, that distinction is relevant, because clients increasingly want to know what proportion of the waste is reused rather than landfilled.
These documents usually already lie with the processor or in your own administration, as a copy of the waste removal document. If you want to see which waste data are precisely requested in a questionnaire and which of those fall under the voluntary standard, then the overview of topics per situation provides an initial direction.
The link with material use
Waste never stands alone. What is removed at the end of a project is related to what was purchased at the beginning: wood, concrete, insulation material, steel. A purchase invoice or a printout from your material administration shows what went onto the construction site. If you compare that with what was removed, a rough indication emerges of the ratio between material used and wasted.
This doesn't need to be an exact mass balance. For most questionnaires, a reasonable estimate based on the documents already available is sufficient, not a complete material accounting per project.
Transport to the construction site
In addition to the waste itself, its transport plays a role, as does the supply of materials to the construction site. Fuel receipts from your own vehicles and invoices from transport companies provide the basis for this. This data overlaps with what you also need for calculating scope 1 and 2, and is converted to a CO2 figure using established emission factors.
A transport document from the waste processor often also mentions the number of trips and the distance, which for larger quantities can be relevant to the question of how much transport is associated with the removal of construction and demolition waste.
What clients ask about waste and materials
The VSME standard contains a section with environmental indicators, including waste and material use. Not every question from it automatically applies to every company: the level of detail requested depends on what a buyer is allowed to request according to the standard and the size of your company. A question about exact reuse percentages per waste stream goes further than a question about total quantities per year, and not every variant needs to be answered.
Whether a specific question falls within that boundary is something you can best assess question by question against the standard, or have assessed. If you're unsure whether a question about waste or materials is reasonable, then the free quick-scan in a few questions provides an initial indication.
Where you record this for the next questionnaire
The inconvenient thing about waste data is that it comes in different formats depending on the project and processor: sometimes a pdf, sometimes a weighing slip on paper. Once you convert this into usable figures, it's helpful if that overview remains available for the next questionnaire, rather than having to search through folders of slips again.
How that link between source documents and a file works, and where the figures come from exactly, is explained on the page that explains how the information is compiled. Building and keeping that file is part of the paid side of the platform; you can see which format suits you on the overview of subscriptions.
If you first want to see whether the questions you received about waste and materials fit within the standard, do the free quick-scan or browse through the topics that have already been researched for companies in construction.