A new project to cut high levels of waste on construction sites and improve health and safety was announced by UK Government Employment Relations Minister Gerry Sutcliffe.

Currently, about 15-20% of all material delivered to construction sites ends up in skips, costing industry hundreds of millions of pounds a year. The Health and Safety Executive reports that almost half of accidents are the result of untidy and badly laid out construction sites.

The project aims to spread environmentally friendly practices throughout UK construction sites by closer working between the main contractor, sub-contractors and trade unions.It will provide companies running construction projects with the necessary tools to ensure that everyone joining a construction site learns about environmental concerns and safety as part of their induction. These tools will include learning packs, tools to manage and maintain partnerships and a framework for reporting success.

Mr Sutcliffe has earmarked a £191,500 from the DTI's Strategic Partnership Fund, which helps strengthen employer-employee relationships and improve business performance. Business will make up the rest of the £827,600 in total needed over two years to get the scheme off the ground.

Gerry Sutcliffe said:

"Health and safety on construction sites must always be a top priority. I welcome this initiative for its direct approach to tackling safety and environmental concerns."

Project manager Uly Ma, of Greenfile Developments Ltd, said:

"A majority of the construction sector employs subcontractors and this means that good practices learnt from one project may not be carried through to another. Also, many of these small companies may not have the resources to provide lifelong learning for their employees.

"We believe that significant cost savings, reduction in accidents and minimising environmental impacts - the three components of sustainable development - can be achieved through a well-organised and neat construction site, coupled with teams that know how to spot waste and how to resolve waste problems."