Bovis Lend Lease Ltd - Project Green Apple Awards, Newcastle Schools 2003
At Newcastle Schools PFI (NSPFI) we are committed to implementing the project environmental plan so that it is effective accurate and economical. We have expended time and a lot of effort to ensure that the procedures put into place are working and are maintained. We have appointed the senior construction manager as environmental co-ordinator to oversee the implementation of the environmental plan. In this submission we will look at one aspect of the environmental plan, which is waste management.
Project Achievements
We have reused 9480m³ and have recycled 15.08m³ and by doing so saved £24,870.30 where, as a normal type of contract, the largest majority of surplus materials would have gone to landfill.
This figure is just the start of the kind of financial gains that we are going to be able to demonstrate upon project completion. We are currently moving towards cost savings of approximately £500,000.
Apart from being able to demonstrate the cost benefit of sound environmental management and sustainable thinking, we are providing a great example of best practice to highlight what can really be achieved within our business and our industry as a whole.
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Surplus or waste materials arise from either the materials imported to site or from those generated on site. Imported materials are those, which are brought to the project for inclusion into the permanent works. Generated materials are those which exist on the project such as topsoil, sub-soil, trees and materials from demolition works, etc.
However, there are other considerations to waste management such as waste reduction, segregation of waste, disposal of waste, financial impacts of waste disposal and recording, monitoring, education and reviewing. We will outline the procedures NS have put into place and demonstrate how they benefit the environment, how we measured the effects and how these procedures and practices are sustainable.
At NSPFI we have, from a very early stage, looked to how we could minimise the waste produced, thereby reducing the amount of waste to be removed from the project. Trade Contractors, Design Team and suppliers have all been encouraged to look at ways to minimise the amount of waste produced at the work face.
In the sub-structure we insured that, when the bases were being poured, we had other bases excavated so that any surplus concrete could be utilised as blinding. The wash down point for the concrete wagons was in a suitable location so that the washed out aggregates formed part of the fill.
Materials, which arrived on pallets, were unloaded and the pallets were stored neatly and removed from site once the number were sufficient to make collection economical. Plasterboard sheets were made to non-standard sizes to suit the wall heights and to reduce the amount of offcuts.
All of the above act to reduce the amount of waste and surplus materials, which traditionally would be skipped and sent to landfill.
At NSPFI we have placed a number of skips for the segregation of waste and these have been identified as wood, metal, brick/rubble and canteen waste. As works progress and other trades come to site, other skips will be placed to enable the waste to be removed from site.
All paper and cardboard which is discarded is bagged up and stored until there is a sufficient quantity to make it economical to remove it from site for recycling. At NSPFI we have found that if the skips are clearly identified the bulk of the work force will deposit the correct materials into the correct skip.
All Surplus or Waste materials fall into three categories for disposal these are:
Reused If surplus materials can be used in the permanent works they are classified as materials which have been reused. If they are surplus to requirements and need to be removed from site and they can be removed and used in their present form, they can be classified as removed from site for reuse.
Recycled If the surplus material can not be reused in its present form but could be used in a different form, it is sent for recycling such as 50x50 timber to make chipboard.
Landfill If either of the above can't be satisfied then the only option left is to send the surplus materials to landfill. At NS landfill is a last resort.
When we first started the management of waste on site by introducing the segregated skips, there was a lot of apprehension of what all of this was going to cost. It was decided we would give it a trial period of 3 months and if it was costing the project money then we would revert to "the way we always do it".
When we asked the question "what should the waste production be?" we were told that the target we must achieve or better was 4m³ per £10,000 of spend.
At NS we have recorded the waste production from the start of the project in July 2002, we implemented the waste management systems with the introduction of segregated skips in the middle of September 2002, so it has now been running for 3½ months.
In that time we have imported and generated in excess of 39,000m³ of materials of which 9502.3m³ was surplus. This surplus was mainly due to the large areas of topsoil, which we had to remove. We have reused 9480m³ either on our own site or had it removed and reused off-site. We have recycled 15.08m³ and sent 7.12m³ to landfill.
This has given us a m³ per £10,000 spend of 0.055 way below the target of 4.
Whilst we managed to get an outlet for the topsoil at one point it looked very likely that we would be stuck with it and therefore it would have been a very expensive item to dispose of.
If we had to remove all the surplus "the way we always do it" it would have cost the project £26,450.80. Due to the teams approach and enthusiasm to make the waste management plan work, the actual cost of waste disposal was £1,628.50 giving a saving to the project and the company of £24,870.30.
For any of the financial figures to be meaningful, the records have to be accurate. The trade contractors fill in a weekly log of all materials that come on to site and we receive a printed sheet from the waste disposal company of the exact amount of waste materials removed from site. This sheet from the disposal company also identifies how much materials went to landfill and how much went for recycling.
The skips need to be monitored to ensure that contamination of segregated skips does not occur. We have held tool box talks on how the waste management system is to work and pointed out that an uncontaminated skip for recycling costs £55 but should it get contaminated then it has to go to landfill at a cost of £89 per skip.
We will continually review the type of surplus materials being produced and change the site set up to maximise on reuse or recycling and the use of landfill will be the last option. We will continue to give toolbox talks to educate the work force to ensure that everyone feels they are included and that their participation is meaningful.
How has this benefited the environment? Without the waste management plan being in place, all surplus materials would have gone to landfill. We have managed to reduce the amount of landfill by 99.77% and we have looked at the surplus materials and identified a suitable means of disposal by either reuse, recycling or as a last result landfill.
The soils produced on site were reused on a number of locations in the area. For example some went to a local football club for youngsters to re-level and dress the playing surface and some went to dress off a landfill site to restore the area in to a local recreation area. Timber metal and rubble went for recycling.
Can you measure or quantify the effects? We have reused 9480m³ and have recycled 15.08m³ and by doing so saved £24,870.30 where, as a normal type of contract, the largest majority of surplus materials would have gone to landfill.
Is it sustainable? All indicators are pointing to the fact that the systems are working and will continue to work and continue to save both money and the environment. It is relatively easy to set up and run and can be implemented on any of our projects.
