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To overcome the problem of excess generation of construction demolition and excavation (CD&E) waste and the resulting environmental pollution, waste management plans (WMP) are considered very effective. In the UK, site waste management plans (SWMP) were voluntary from 2004 until it became a regulatory requirement in 2008. A DEFRA red tape regulation challenge however repealed the SWMP (2008) Regulations in December 2013. Based on the theories of voluntary and regulatory compliance, the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) of the regulations, consultations leading to the repeal of the regulations and critique of literature, this paper ascertains the performance of the SWMP in England 4 years as a voluntary code and the same as a regulatory requirement. The results indicate that the performance of the SWMP (2008) Regulations was affected to a large extent by the design of the regulatory instrument, the enforcement style used and the lack of capacity on the part of some firms to comply. The paper concludes that; be it voluntary or regulatory, the goals of such interventions can be well achieved by using a well-designed instrument and building the capacities of firms to meet the demands of waste management. The paper recommends that normative compliance should be induced in firms by regulators collaborating with all stakeholders to ensure the burden imposed by compliance is offset by the gains of waste management through capacity building.