ISSN 2043-0140
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2010
LABS AND TESTING WATERAID DEMOLITION RETROFITTING ILLEGAL TIMBER RENEWABLEUK 2010
INTRODUCTION FROM THE EDITOR Here we are again; welcome to the latest issue of Environment Industry Magazine, issue 10. I cannot believe this is the tenth time I have sat down to write the introduction to the magazine. We are into the last quarter of 2010, all holding our breath (and purse strings by the looks of things) waiting to see where the Sword of Damocles will fall on public spending. Despite this, we are most definitely escaping the clutches of the credit crunch: there are signs in the environmental sector of growth, many of our clients are speaking of healthy order books and growing balance sheets for the first time in 2 years. The announcements on capital spending will remove the final barrier to the markets being free of the terrible financial ordeal of the last 24 months. The biggest obstruction to spending growth is uncertainty, regardless of the severity of the cuts to public spending we will have closure on this issue; we will know what we are dealing with and can set about doing just that.
to worry about finances, which they do, and eventually you are in recession, which is perpetuated by the media telling us we are actually in recession.
I have 2 major concerns with the cuts, firstly, that they will not be enough to eliminate the bureaucracy, red tape and basic incompetence, which you will have inevitably experienced if you have had the pleasure of dealing with any public sector organisation. It is in simplifying these antiquated processes, which are designed to waste money and time, and eliminating incompetents, that the real money savings can be made. I suggest that alongside incapacity benefit, we introduce to the public sector an incompetency benefit which allows all “those” people to be removed from their positions but retain their salary. This will allow the departments and systems to run without their interference. I am sure that, even with the cost of wages, this would offer savings of both time and money. If you are wondering about eligibility for incompetency benefit, secret departmental ballots will quickly highlight the offending individuals.
Look to the future; if we can clear the deficit imagine how well off we will be! I know that this introduction has failed to introduce the writers in the magazine but in my defence, this issue has more editorial features than ever before. I would like to point out that this is the second outing for the industry sections in the magazine, hopefully making it more readable and therefore more appealing; we have introduced an Organic Waste section and will bring you wider industry sector coverage in the future. We have also just introduced a subscription service online (www.enviromedia.ltd.uk/shop.html). Speaking of ideal Christmas Gifts, check our eco Christmas gift guide on pages 156-157
If the swinging cuts are going to make the public sector leaner, more efficient and easier to work with, then my second concern is psychosomatic recession. We already know the power of the media is greater than ever before and that we, the people, are so malleable that the mere suggestion from a daily newspaper or television news programme of something scary sends us into frenzy. All it takes is for a reporter to show us a few jagged red lines pointing downwards on the news and we will have a run on the banks, people stop shopping and we cancel Christmas. Already we are talking about double dip recession (I thought double dips were those nice cherry sherbets with the lollypops) even before the Government spending plan is announced. Psychosomatic or “media induced” recession is much the same as when you take a sicky at work; you spend so much thinking about being ill that you actually make yourself feel ill. Everyone is told
Alex Stacey Managing Director
What we need to remember is that the Government wants to stay in power and the only way to do this is to fix the deficit as soon as possible, not to send us into further financial depression. For example, if you believe what you are told then the cancelling of the building schools for the future program meant that no more schools will be built...ever. However, the organisation responsible for running the program, Partnerships for Schools, are in discussions with the Government on the best way forward to fulfil the quota of required schools without the expensive and cumbersome Building Schools for the Future program hanging around their necks. I am quite sure that we will once again see the day when our children can be educated in new school buildings.
Alex
Alex Stacey
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |1|
CONTENTS NEWS: PAGE 4 - 24
FOCUS: PAGE 26 - 36
NEWS Page 21 - Ideas In Transit - GeoVation Challenge Paul Beauchamp - Ordnance Survey Page 22-23 - UKRHA - The Race to Maintain Water Supplies -Brian Pickworth, Technical Manager at Kingspan Environmental Page 24 -
Steve Grant Column
Page 26 - 28 - Facing the Challenge - Ian Rippin, Commercial Director of the National Laboratory Service (NLS) Page 30 - 32 - Water Framework Directive By Rakesh Kanda, Principal Research Scientist, Severn Trent Services. Page 34 - 36 - Heat Pump Testing - Tom Garrigan, BSRIA Senior Test Engineer
WATER: PAGE 38 - 67 Page 40 - 42 - The World is Neglecting Santitation Margaret Betty, Director of Policy, Wateraid Page 44 - 49 - How to Reduce Your Bathroom’s Carbon Footprint- Yvonne Orgill, Chief Executive - BMA Page 50 - 54 - MCERTS: An Inspector Calls - Tony Hoyle, ABB Instrumentation and Chairman of SWIG Page 56 - 59 - Trenchless Technologies - Ian Clarke, No-Dig Media (UKSTT) Page 61 - 66 - WWEM - Show Preview
LABS AND TESTING
LAND MANAGEMENT: PAGE 68 - 75 Page 70 - 72 - Contaminated Land, Where Next? Alistair Kean - Chair EIC Contaminated Land Working Group Page 74 - Reducing and Managing Risk from Contaminated Land - Frances Bennett Director of Ashton Bennett
ORGANIC WASTE: PAGE 76 - 85 Page 78 - 82 - Anaerobic Digestion - Dr Kevin Monson, Principal Consultant, WYG Page 84 - 85 The Biofuel Sticking Point - Ian Collins, Managing Director of REG Bio-Power
EnviroMedia Limited, 254a Bury New Road, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 8QN
Alex Stacey Tel: 0161 3410158 Fax: 0161 7668997 Email: alex@enviromedia.ltd.uk
Environment Industry Magazine is proud to be the official media partner for the UK Sustainable Development Association. Every effort is made to verify all information published, but Environment Industry Magazine cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions or for any losses that may arise as a result. Opinions expressed in articles do not necessarily reflect those of EnviroMedia Ltd. Environment Industry Magazine welcomes contributions for publication. Submissions are accepted on the basis of full assignment of copyright to EnviroMedia Ltd unless otherwise agreed in advance and in writing. We reserve the right to edit items for reasons of space, clarity or legality. |2| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Coca-Cola trials Gasrec’s sustainable fuel made from landfill gas Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) is trialling a lowcarbon, sustainable fuel made from landfill gas made by British firm, Gasrec, for use in delivery vehicles operating from its Enfield and Sidcup depots. The soft drinks company is running trials of a 21-tonne Iveco Stralis vehicle run on Gasrec’s sustainable liquid biomethane fuel. Gasrec - the first commercial producer of liquid biomethane in Europe – creates the fuel by extracting naturally occurring methane from organic waste in landfill sites and converting it to a high quality, clean fuel. The trial is expected to result in CO2 reduction in excess of 60% compared to the equivalent vehicles running on diesel. Liquid biomethane has been found in trials to be a viable low-carbon alternative to diesel: it reduces CO2, gives a much higher vehicle performance than electric vehicles, and has a similar fuel consumption pattern to diesel. Refueling stations are being provided to CCE’s Enfield depot by Gasrec’s infrastructure partner, Gas Container Services (GCS). Gasrec’s fuel is now being used by major household names in the UK, including Waitrose (which announced in August 2010 that it will run an initial five home delivery vehicles on Gasrec’s Liquid Biomethane); Sainsbury’s (which uses Gasrec’s liquid biomethane for a number of its dual-fuel vehicles); and Tesco (which runs 25 home delivery vehicles on the fuel). |4| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Gasrec’s liquid biomethane is created by extracting the natural gas produced from biomass in landfill. The gas is then converted to liquid biomethane, has the lowest carbon footprint of all the renewable vehicles and is commercially competitive against diesel and petrol. In addition it can be directly substituted for both compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquified natural gas (LNG). This liquid biomethane is then used to fuel dedicated gas-powered or dual-fuel vehicles; or for decentralised (off grid) power generation. Gasrec’s liquid biomethane is UK-sourced, sustainable and commercially competitive. Richard Lilleystone, CEO of Gasrec, says: “Some of the biggest companies in the world are showing a real commitment to reducing CO2. Transport is often the biggest problem for them. But now, there is a real sustainable alternative to diesel for fleet vehicles. The performance of biomethane in vehicles far outstrips that of electricity. We hope that this step will be the beginning of a larger deployment for Coca-Cola Enterprises. It is apparent that growing numbers of like-minded organisations are electing to use biomethane as a fuel of choice, which is good news for the environment and for local air quality.” Darren O’Donnell, Logistics Asset Manager at CCE, says: “We’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint wherever possible. In the past, finding a viable alternative to diesel to fuel our distribution network has been extremely difficult. Gasrec’s liquid biomethane is high-performance, locally-sourced and low carbon, and could provide the answer for us.”
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iomart Hosting campaign to support rainforest preservation iomart Hosting, one of Europe’s leading providers of managed hosting and cloud computer services, is launching a campaign to sustain up to 1,000 acres of cloud rainforest in the Neblina Reserve in Ecuador. Through the ‘Racks 4 Acres’ initiative, in conjunction with Rainforest Concern, iomart Hosting will sponsor an acre of cloud rainforest for every additional megawatt of power that is consumed from September this year within its five UK data centres, estimated to be enough energy to power 110 houses. This is expected to equate to at least 500 acres. Cloud forests make up less than 2.5% of the world’s tropical forests but are home to a disproportionately large number of the world’s species. They include all the forests in the humid tropics that are frequently covered in clouds or mists and so, in addition to rainfall, capture water droplets that condense on the vegetation. The Neblina Reserve in the Choco-Andean Forest Corridor occupies the area between the Paso Alto Moutain Range and Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve and will keep these areas connected and protect flora and fauna. Research shows that you can make a more significant impact on the environment by preserving mature habitats, rather than simply planting new trees, in terms of protecting existing eco systems and retaining locked in carbon.
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Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE)
announces the opening of the new RBC Rain Garden at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), London Wetland Centre. The RBC Rain Garden is funded by the RBC Blue Water Project, a 10-year, C$50 million global commitment to support organisations that protect watersheds and provide access to clean drinking water. The new sustainable garden is the result of a C$110,000 (c. £70,000) donation to WWT, the first UK recipient of a RBC Blue Water Project grant. The garden was opened by Alan Titchmarsh, the horticulture expert, broadcaster and novelist, and was designed by leading landscape expert Nigel Dunnett and The Landscape Agency’s Matthew Wilson. Commenting on the RBC Rain Garden, Lynn Patterson, Director of Corporate Responsibility at RBC, said: “RBC has a long standing commitment to environmental sustainability. The RBC Rain Garden raises awareness of the importance of water as a natural resource and demonstrates how it can be used more wisely in our everyday lives. London is a significant hub for RBC, so we are proud to be supporting a local organisation.” Simon Rose, WWT Centre Developments Manager, said: “We’d like to thank RBC for helping to support such a successful project. The RBC Rain Garden is a marvellous example of sustainability and has been designed to educate on the importance of wetlands and inspire visitors to create their own sustainable gardens at home.”
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |7|
MAJOR GLOBAL INNOVATION AWARD FINDS NEW SOLUTION TO THE EARTH’S ENERGY NEEDS Artificial Photosynthetic Foam wins The Earth Awards 2010 Revolutionary artificial foam, which captures and converts the sun’s energy more effectively than living organisms, has won The Earth Awards 2010 at a glittering ceremony held in London. The Photosynthetic Foam won the $50,000 prize after being selected from over 500 entries from around the world. The team pitched to an audience of leading CEOs and investors at a Dragon’s Den style Summit, held in partnership with the Financial Times at Marlborough House, London. University of Cincinnati Professors David Wendell’s and Carlo Montemagno’s Photosynthetic Foam is a more land, efficient means of producing biofuels because it is not reliant on soil as it is a synthetic material. The UC Professors’ manufactured system of photosynthesis means that all captured energy is converted to sugars, unlike natural plant photosynthesis where a large amount of energy is used to maintain the life of the organism. In short, the foam is a far more efficient and versatile energy production platform, presenting new opportunities for developments in the field of renewable energy. Professor Wendell explains: “The great aspect of Artificial Photosynthetic Foam is that it can practically contribute to a better tomorrow – which is exactly what
the Earth Awards is about. Whether it’s the environment or the economy, this process has the potential to transform humanity’s approach to energy production and make an immediate positive contribution to reducing harmful carbon emissions.” The Earth Awards, which identify viable ideas from fashion to architecture and consumer products, and marries them with investors to provide a real solution to improving quality of life, are the only global innovation awards where the aim is to give the designer the means to enter the worldwide consumer marketplace. Earth Awards judge Richard Branson adds: “The world’s population is united through the huge environmental and social challenges we face. Real innovation is needed if we are to discover products and technologies which can tackle these head on. The Earth Awards brings together people from all walks of life, who share the same objective – to challenge us to rethink the way we live today and present solutions to improve the world of tomorrow.” Nicole Ting Yap, Founder of The Earth Awards, concludes: “The Earth Awards is about providing an aspirational platform for consumer-driven ideas, which can challenge designers to build a new economy. Artificial Photosynthetic Foam is a fantastic technological development which has real potential to drive positive change.” Selected finalists were being showcased at HRH The Prince of Wales’ Start initiative, to inspire people to build a better future. They appeared at Start’s ‘A Garden Party to Make a Difference’, at Clarence House, Marlborough House and Lancaster House gardens..
SodaStream to focus on environmental benefits SodaStream has announced that it is to focus on the environmental benefits of its soft drinks machines. Until now the company, which relaunched its SodaStream drinks makers in the UK earlier this year, has been focussing on the nostalgia of its drinks which peaked in popularity in the 1980s. The company is now to focus on SodaStream’s environmental credentials, including the potential for reducing packaging use and food miles. An academic report which quantifies the environmental impact of soft drinks and SodaStream is set to be published in the autumn. Unlike traditional soft drinks and sparkling water, SodaStream reuses one plastic bottle for up to three years, saving the average family up to 1,200 one-litre |8| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
PET plastic bottles. In addition SodaStream drinks are transported as concentrates rather than as ready-diluted drinks, helping to reduce food miles. “SodaStream helps people to cut their carbon footprint without compromising taste, quality or convenience,” said SodaStream’s Fiona Hope. “It’s the sort of green product which is increasingly in demand as people seek to reduce their environmental impact.”
Before
After
Kivikko is situated in the eastern side of Helsinki, the capital of Finland, 20mins from Helsinki Airport. The terrain consists of peat, clay and sludge layers. The size of the area is approximately 1Ha and, in its original state, completely unsuitable for construction purposes. Two separate stabilisation tests were carried out; In one, mass stabilisation was applied to a depth of 3 metres. The result was a solid platform that will serve as the foundations for a parking area. The second area treated, using the column and mass stabilisation methods, will serve as a building area for industrial units. The required stability and carrying objectives were reached. The results provide a very good example of the possibilities that can be achieved with stabilisation. Recently a second contract to extend the site has started; mass stabilising @ 78,000m3 of peat and very soft clay (yoghurt consistency) and column stabilising 135,000 linear metres (600m diameter, 1m centres) through the peat and soft clay, and in parts combining the mass and columns together.
Allu
are inviting everyone to come and see the soil stabilisation method in operation. This site is of particular interest as it is one of the very few sites where you have: • History (10 years). • Peat and very soft clay ground conditions. • Recent construction of road and buildings (1 year ago). • Both mass and column stabilisation methods together at the same time. • Location, the site is only 20mins from Helsinki Airport. If you or your clients and colleagues would like to visit the site please contact David Maclynn on 07799 866866. The project is planned to continue up to December of this year, however if you are intending to visit it is recommended that you travel as soon as possible as winter could arrive early this year, and although the contractor Biomaa will continue to work, it is difficult to see what is happening on the site if there is 500mm of snow.
Royal Thames Mansura Trophy, in association with Bosch Engineering GmbH, launches new website announcing entry details for 2010 award A new website announcing the entry criteria and key dates for the 2010 Royal Thames Mansura Trophy, in association with Bosch Engineering GmbH, has been launched. The Mansura Trophy is an international award that recognises excellence and innovation in the design, development and application of hybrid power systems in marine vessels, and attracts entries from all over the world. Full details of the award, the rules for entry and qualification dates can now be found online at www.mansuratrophy.com. Originally set up by the Royal Thames Yacht Club, the significance of the Mansura Trophy in helping encourage marine companies to develop new forms of hybrid power has been endorsed by this recently-announced association. With governments, manufacturers and users worldwide looking for effective transportation solutions using renewable energy resources, The Royal Thames Mansura Trophy has become established as the most prestigious international maritime award for ecology. Eligible vessels must use at least two independent sources of propulsive power and the final drive system must be electrical. While encouraging prototype development, this award is unique in that it recognises real achievement with entrants required to have an operational vessel on the water before the 31st December 2010 to qualify for this year’s trophy.
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |9|
New Measures s to o Control n Bovine B TB in Badgers Defra is consulting on a proposal to issue licences to farmers and landowners who wish to cull and/or vaccinate badgers at their own expense. These licences would be subject to strict licence criteria to ensure badger control is done effectively, humanely and with high regard for animal welfare. Jim Paice said: “Bovine TB is having a devastating effect on many farm businesses and families, especially in the West and South West of England. Last year 25,000 cattle were slaughtered because of the disease and it cost the taxpayer over £63 million in England alone. We can’t go on like this. It’s clear that the current approach has failed to stop the spread of this terrible disease. We need to take urgent action to halt its spread. No single measure will be enough to tackle the disease on its own. But the science is clear: there is no doubt that badgers are a significant reservoir for the disease and without taking action to control the disease in them, it will continue to spread. No country in the world has eradicated bovine TB without dealing with the reservoir in wildlife. That’s why I’m today launching a consultation on how we can tackle the disease in badgers. A decision on our approach will be taken following the consultation. I intend to publish a comprehensive and balanced bovine TB eradication programme early in 2011.” The consultation proposes issuing licences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 to enable farmers and landowners to cull badgers, at their own expense. Under the Government’s new proposal, they will be able to use vaccination either on its own or in combination with culling. Licences would be subject to strict criteria to ensure culling is carried out effectively, humanely and with high regard to animal welfare. They will also be asked to explain how they intend to minimise the negative effect in the surrounding area, identified |10| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
by the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT). Farmers and landowners are already able to apply for licences to vaccinate badgers. Culling will only be allowed in areas where there is a high incidence of bovine TB in cattle. Jim Paice added: “I have looked carefully at the potential for using badger vaccination. Based on veterinary advice and the available scientific evidence, the Government’s assessment is that vaccination on its own will not reduce disease as quickly as culling. However by using it in combination with culling, it is possible to maximise the effectiveness of badger control in reducing bovine TB in cattle.” Cattle measures will remain central to the Government’s bovine TB programme, though some changes are planned to ensure that they are better targeted on the basis of disease risk. Most existing cattle measures will remain firmly in place - in some cases controls will be tightened where we know there is a higher disease risk and in some cases, burdens on farmers will be reduced but only where we are confident that this will not increase disease risk. Jim Paice confirmed that pre-movement testing will remain in place following a review and announced some minor changes to TB testing that will take effect immediately. Further details can be found via:
www.defra.gov.uk/food-farm/animals/diseases/tb
SAC Consulting
SAC
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E n v i ro n m e n t a n d D e s i g n helping a changing world SAC is a charity registered in Scotland, No. SC003712
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |11|
WYG Celebrates Success at Sustainable Ireland Awards International consultancy, WYG has won two awards at the prestigious 6th annual Sustainable Ireland Awards, held in partnership with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). The awards, Biodiversity Project of the Year and Environmental Project of the Year were presented at a ceremony held in Belfast before a packed audience of leading players in the environmental, waste management and energy sectors. Addressing the audience, Minister for the Environment, Edwin Poots highlighted the significance of 2010, declared as International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations, and stressed the importance of safeguarding biodiversity at both a global and local level. The Biodiversity Project of the Year award, sponsored by NIEA, acknowledged the Balloo Wetland Nature Reserve, designed and project managed by WYG. The project has enhanced local biodiversity, supported delivery of a variety of educational programmes and created a recreational resource for local residents to enjoy. Fulfilling the vision of project partners, North Down Borough Council and Ulster Wildlife Trust, the wetland has transformed an area of derelict wet grassland into a haven for both wildlife and the local community. Dr Eleanor Ballard, Principal Ecologist, WYG said: “Winning the ‘Biodiversity Project of the Year’ award is an honour and reflects the hard work and creative solutions we have provided. The design was developed by our civil engineers, who also supplied procurement and construction supervision services, supported by our ecology team, who offered expertise to increase the design’s ecological benefits. WYG’s health and safety consultants were also on hand to provide construction design and management (CDM) coordinator services.” WYG, who also manage the Government-funded Envirowise Programme, had double cause to celebrate
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when Envirowise, along with project partners McLaughlin & Harvey scooped, ‘Environmental Project of the Year’ for their submission entitled “Development of a Sustainable Construction Supply Chain Model”. Sam McCloskey, Regional Director, WYG & Envirowise Programme Manager NI, said: “The model highlights the benefits that can be achieved when construction companies, suppliers and manufacturers work together to develop a viable supply chain to minimise the use of natural resources and lessen the impact on the environment. We brought together ten key supply chain companies and sought to identify areas such as environmental management, raw material, energy and water use and packaging and waste, where resource efficiency and environmental performance could be improved.” Richard Robinson, Quality & Environmental Manager, McLaughlin & Harvey, explains that the model was pilot tested on Phase 2B of the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast. Richard said: “Management of the construction process facilitated significant waste and energy reductions at the Royal Victoria Hospital site, which led to financial savings along the supply chain equating to approximately £280,000. Sustainable construction methods resulted in a reduction in carbon emissions of over 60 tonnes. The collaborative approach to resource efficiency benefitted the entire construction supply chain, cutting down on costs for all those concerned. “The Royal Victoria project illustrates the standard that can be achieved and we are delighted to receive the Environmental Project of the Year award”.
Accoya® wood features as “Public Choice” winner at the first European Solar Decathlon The Solar Decathlon Europe 2010 event challenged architectural students across the globe to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. Twenty universities from around the world spent two years designing prototypes that were on display for judging in Madrid last month. Project RE:Focus, from The University of Florida, was a home that blended innovative architecture with sustainable materials, such as Accoya® wood, to create a zero-energy home. Although RE:Focus was placed eighth overall, it took first and second place in the Communications and Energy Balance categories respectively and was voted as the favourite in the prestigious Public Choice Award. Developing the idea of the traditional Cracker House design prevalent in late 19th century Florida, the RE:Focus home uses sustainable materials and effectively combines a back-to-basics approach to energy conservation with the latest technological advances. A covered open porch with a breezeway corridor facing into the prevailing wind is designed to help with cooling the property in an otherwise hot climate. The award-winning design also allows the homeowner to customise the building to their individual preference. Innovative adjustable exterior screens made from high technology Accoya® wood enable additional control of solar gain and natural light in the home, thereby reducing energy consumption. The panels also offer a number of different options for privacy and a unique design solution by appearing to be a façade when closed, but transforming into an attractive shelter for the veranda when raised. “Accoya® wood really fell in line with our sustainable goals for the house,” said Paige Mainor, design contributor, Project RE:Focus, the University of Florida. “From the beginning, our goal was to work with materials that take into consideration the overall size of the carbon footprint and Accoya® wood fitted nicely into that category”. |14| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Leading Energy Saving Paint Makes TV Debut A West Yorkshire based company, which prides itself on its range of innovative energy- saving paint products, caught the watchful eye of the BBC Look North team last week. The team learnt how Warmcoat Energy Saving Paint tackles the age old-problem of insulation with a little ‘outside the box’ thinking. By combining cuttingedge Nano and heat shielding technologies, Thermilate Europe Limited has developed easy-to-use paints, coatings and plaster products which create a thermal barrier upon application; inhibiting heat transfer through walls and ceilings. Warmcoat increases the efficiency of the heating system by retaining more of the heat for longer in properties which means the thermostat does not trigger the boiler as often, so reducing heating costs significantly. Also rooms feel warmer and for longer, due to the continued circulation of the heat within the room. Statistically the Yorkshire and Humber region is responsible for the highest rate of carbon emissions in the UK, making it all the more important for innovative companies such as Thermilate to come forward and play a crucial role in cost-effective heat loss control and hence the reduction of these highly damaging CO2 emissions. A 3-bedroomed semi-detached property, for instance, can save up to 148 Kgs of carbon emissions per year when coated with Warmcoat emulsion on walls and ceilings. Little wonder 97% of Thermilate customers stated their homes felt warmer and cosier when painted with Warmcoat and stayed that way for longer, according to an independent survey. However, Thermilate’s energysaving paints go much further than providing unique decorative insulation, the breathability of the products can completely eliminate condensation and mould growth problems on walls and ceilings. Commitment to providing the best possible service in delivering environmentally friendly, premium quality energy-saving paints, coatings and plaster products, that work in harmony with the environment, have led to Thermilate being nominated in a major award ceremony to be held later in the year.
REGENERATION THROUGH SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
challenging project was a key contributor towards our reappointment.
Leading European engineering consultancy, Grontmij has been reappointed as Environmental Consultant on phase two of the Ravenscraig redevelopment project, one of the largest and most ambitious brownfield regenerations ever seen in the UK.
“Grontmij has a proven track Above: Ravenscraig before record and Below: Ravenscraig proposed excellent reputation in Scotland as the leading provider of brownfield regeneration consultancy services, from contaminated land assessment and remediation implementation through to waste management and materials reuse, and we are delighted to be reappointed to the next phase of this exciting project.”
Grontmij announces Ravenscraig appointment.
Ravenscraig is a joint public and private venture to redevelop and regenerate a 1,125 acre site at the former Ravenscraig Steelworks in Motherwell. Once completed it will be home to over 10,000 people, create 12,000 jobs and is expected to attract in excess of £1.4 billion of private sector investment over the next 15 to 20 years. Grontmij’s appointment follows the consultancy’s successful completion of environmental work on phase one of the commission, which included the assessment and remediation of land for the redevelopment of over 800 houses, and the sites for a £35 million sports facility and a £70 million campus for Motherwell College. During phase two, the key aspect of which is the development of a new town centre, Grontmij will ensure the land and surrounding area is suitable for redevelopment by reviewing and assessing historic site data, carrying out site investigations and risk assessments and developing a robust Remediation Strategy. Grontmij will work as part of a large team of design consultants, integrating its assessments into the wider study of the site with a focus on sustainability through innovation.
Tony Greig at Ravenscraig Limited, said: “The steel manufacturing history of the site, which included one of the largest gas and coke production works in the UK and the largest steel rolling mill in Western Europe, has resulted in many significant environmental challenges. “We were impressed with Grontmij’s strategic assessment during phase one and the consultancy’s focus on the practical implementation of complex legislation really stood out to us. We are looking forward to working with the Grontmij team again to successfully complete the second phase.”
Leading on the project from Grontmij’s Edinburgh office, Lewis Barlow, Technical Manager, said: “Our success in developing environmental risk assessments and a workable Remediation Strategy for phase one of this
Grontmij is a leading multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy operating across environment, water, transportation, energy and sustainable planning and design.
FSC CERTIFICATION ENHANCES ENCASEMENT’S SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT RANGE
Offered alongside its existing products to provide the widest choice, the FSC chain of custody certified product range helps customers meet their obligations under sustainable timber procurement policies or where certified products are specified as part of the various sustainable buildings codes.
The recent FSC certification by BM TRADA of decorative pre-formed casings manufacturer and supplier, Encasement Ltd, is proving to be a key part of the company’s development by helping reinforce and extend its credentials as a producer of sustainable building products and solutions. Encasement’s FSC ‘Chain of Custody’ certification covers ‘Pure’, ‘Mixed’ and ‘Recycled’ product classifications for the sustainably sourced timber used in the manufacture of plywood products in the company’s range, including its Riva, Riva D, Versa and Versa D pipe boxing as well as its boiler pipe casing range and Circa & Quadra column casings.
Encasement’s MD, Martin Taylor explained: “At Encasement, we’re playing our part in sustainable building solutions by offering products within our range that are either recyclable, produced from sustainable and managed sources, or manufactured from recycled materials.” Information on Encasement’s range of sustainable building solutions and products can be obtained from www.encasement.co.uk or by calling the technical support team on 01733 266889. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |15|
Dr Simon Boxall wins YSI’s new ‘Castaway CTD’ Dr Simon Boxall from the National Oceanographic Centre has been presented with one of YSI’s new ‘Castaway CTD’ profiling instruments following a competition at this year’s Oceanology International event. Simon used the Castaway CTD during September whilst participating in an expedition to the Arctic, organised by Cape Farewell, an organisation looking for new ways to combat climate change. The device will now be utilised in the training of students at the University of Southampton. The Castaway CTD is simply thrown into the water and retrieved manually. The device automatically records conductivity, salinity, specific conductance, density, sound speed, temperature profile data, depth and GPS position, so that no field notes or computers are necessary.
NATS, the UK’s leading air traffic control company
, has announced that it is on course to achieve its ground-breaking emission reduction programme as it reports annual savings of 50,000 tonnes of CO2. In 2008, the company became the first air traffic control provider to set targets to co-operate with the industry to reduce ATM CO2 by an average of 10% of per flight by 2020. NATS has published its second annual report, which shows that 50,000 tonnes of CO2 were saved last year. It also details how the company staged the first “perfect flight”, between Heathrow and Edinburgh, to demonstrate the ideal fuel-saving trajectory for aircraft. Chief Executive Richard Deakin, who took over in April, told the 5th ATAG Aviation and Environment Summit in Geneva that NATS had made good progress and must build on its achievements to ensure it meets the climate challenge. He said: “This is a win-win. The work we are doing not only removes CO2 from the atmosphere, but also means cheaper fuel bills for the airlines and greener airport operations. As the aviation industry moves towards a more sustainable future, a future which cannot happen unless air traffic control is matching the pace the airlines are setting, we need to ensure we are focused on delivering benefits to our customers and for the environment.” The report also notes that 150 fuel-saving suggestions from airlines and NATS staff are being put into practice. It also covers the partnership with the Irish Aviation Authority to create Europe’s first functional airspace block. NATS’ carbon reduction target is in line with international aspirations. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified potential for cuts in aircraft fuel burn attributed to air traffic management of between six to 12% by 2020. SESAR, the project to harmonise air traffic control across Europe, has set its benchmark of 10% by the same year.
Innovation for Success Celebrating British Design, British Innovation, British manufacturing Syed Ahmed, CEO SAVortex is hosting an evening with guest speakers to celebrate the launch of the world’s greenest multi award winning ‘Vortex’ hand dryer and discuss the future of low carbon technology. The evening will be a celebration of British enterprise, design, innovation and manufacturing with guest speakers giving their take on sustainability and their experiences on Wednesday 17th November, IET London, 2 Savoy Place, London. The event is by invitation only for future thinking leading companies, decision makers, sustainability heads and advisors and media, with the focus on energy efficiency |16| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
& environmental sustainability. If you are interested in attending please contact suzanne.mcdermott-swan@savortex.com to secure your place. SAVortex Ltd won one of the UK’s highest profile awards from the prestigious Best Business Awards for Best New Product 2009 for its energy efficiency, and was also awarded a Commendation at the Rushlight Awards 2009 in the energy minimisation category, and SAVortex has been shortlisted in the highly competitive category of product of the year 2010 by Sustain Magazine.
“The compelling proposition is that UKR is a guerilla army of inßuence and support”
Dear Colleague AN OPEN LETTER TO EVERYONE IN REGENERATION This is the most challenging time for regeneration for many years. Lots of you will have participated in the British Urban Regeneration Association and will have shared our regret that it could not continue to deliver training and to promote best practice. There is a gap that must be Þlled. We have started UK Regeneration (UKR) to Þll it. We have some preliminary ideas of what is needed and we are getting on with establishing ways in which UKR might support those at the front line of regeneration delivery and how we inßuence the emerging policy agenda.You will see the Þrst steps on our website. But this task cannot be limited to our ideas. We have to respond to everyone who is involved in regeneration, both in shaping what we do to provide support and in being part of a collective voice to maximise our inßuence. So above all we need your participation. ¥ ¥
Join us by registering your name and email through the website. It is entirely free at the moment. It will mean we can be in touch about future developments and you will have access to all the areas of the website. Contribute to the debates that we are starting: both about the shape of UKR and about shaping policy.
We do not intend to be exclusive: regeneration has always been about differing professional interests and different sectors working together to improve places and lives. We will collaborate with professional institutions, other representative groups, and other networks. The website explains how we plan to get started on this collaboration. Come and join us. Best wishes Jackie Sadek Michael Divers Paul Evans Richard Rose
web: ukregeneration.org.uk email: info@ukregeneration.org.uk ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |17|
New German shredding technology makes the recycling of massive rotor blades possible and grinds them down to tiny pieces Even though the cross flow shredder DIABOLO® is not the devil’s advocate, it certainly is a bad omen for all disused wind turbine blades that are waiting to be disposed of. In a town near Luneburg, in the north of Germany, the shredding technology by Anlagenbau Umwelt + Technik Chemnitz GmbH (AU+T) will soon fulfill its intended purpose and face its biggest challenge yet, fibre-glass reinforced rotor blades!
without difficulties and without leaving any residues. During the treatment, the rotor blades are pre-shredded and then they are fed into the DIABOLO®, which disintegrates material compounds and crushes the input material to homogeneous grits using its two-stage process. Right after the treatment in the 43-tonnes cross flow shredder, metals are separated from non-metal by means of magnetic separators, whereas the fine dust from the rotor blades is extracted by suction. ‘Waste not’ seems to the motto of this process. Everything that is obtained at the end of the process is re-used. Even the plastic powder will find a use in the production of concrete. By the end of 2009, there were 21,164 wind turbines in operation in Germany. It seems like the DIABOLO® will not be running out of work so soon.
Since 2005, old and worn-out rotor blades from wind power stations can no longer be landfilled in Germany. Even though incineration is still a viable option to dispose of wind turbine blades, it proves to be rather tricky due to the sheer size of the input material. Today’s rotor blades have a standard length of 46 metres and can weigh between nine and ten tonnes. Thanks to the DIABOLO®, one needs no longer waste thoughts on incinerating rotor blades because the shredding device is going to be at the core of a new process that can recycle this oversized input material
Most energy efficient hotel in the UK The £22 million Radisson Blu Hotel, being built by MAG Developments*, the largest British owned air operator, in partnership with the specialist hotel investment firm Azure Property Group, scheduled to open in summer 2011, has been awarded one of the highest ever BREEAM marks, the leading and most widely used method to assess a building’s environmental performance. The hotel has been awarded a score of 76.17% - well above the BREEAM Excellent benchmark of 70%. The hotel is also compliant with proposed changes to the current part L Building Regulations, which focus on improving buildings’ energy efficiency. The hotel will utilise a range of low energy technologies to reduce the energy demand of the building; supplemented by an on-site combined heat and power (CHP) engine with a pure plant oil (PPO) tri-generation energy centre; that will export electricity to the national grid outside of normal occupancy hours. This innovative system will deliver a 87% reduction in CO2 and supply up to 90% of the consumed energy from a renewable source. The build also incorporates a number of sustainable construction techniques to deliver a BREEAM Excellent facility, including a sustainable surface water drainage system that utilises techniques, such as porous paving in the car park, attenuation tanks and a rainwater harvesting system and interior and exterior motion sensitive lighting to further reduce electricity consumption. *MAG Developments is the property and development arm of the largest UK-owned airport operator, Manchester Airports Group (MAG). |18| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
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Move aside Fridge Magnets! A ‘Pan Magnet’ that can cook the dinner wins Electrolux Design Lab 2010. Imagine an induction hob condensed to the size of a mobile phone and transformed in shape until it looks like a sleek mini-iron, which can then be stuck onto the side of a metal pan to heat up the contents! That is the idea that Electrolux Design Lab 2010 winner Peter Alwin, from National Institute of Design in India, came up with when he designed The Snail, a Micro Induction Heater The Snail is a portable heating and cooking device based on magnetic induction processes. Such is its size and versatility, it can be stuck directly onto a pot, a pan or a mug etc to heat the contents; this reduces the amount of space required for conventional cooking whilst adding portability to the process. Powered by a high density sugar crystal battery, the Snail converts the energy from the sugar, heating up a coil to conduct the magnetic induction process to the utensil. Integrated sensors detect the food type being heated so as to automatically
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adjust the time and temperature. A simple touch sensitive display with interface helps to monitor the process. Swedish home appliance giant Electrolux selected The Snail as the Electrolux Design Lab 2010 winner. The announcement was made at 100% Design London, the UK’s leading architecture and design event. The award for first place is a prize of €5,000 and a six-month paid internship at one of Electrolux global design centres. The award for second place went to The Bio Robot Refrigerator, the Cool, Green, Food Preservation by Yuriy Dmitriev, CSU, Russia. Third place went to The Elements Modular Kitchen, All-In-One Kitchen Shelving by Matthew Gilbride, North Carolina State University, USA. The Bio Robot Refrigerator also received the People’s Choice Award—as voted for online. This year over 1,300 entries were submitted from students in more 50 countries.
GeoVation offers £25,000 for best ideas to revolutionise transport
especially with the influx of open data releases that we’ve seen over the past months. Those include from central government through Data.gov.uk, Ordnance Survey’s own OS OpenData portal and the mos recent by T ansport for London, which has released a range of timetabling data.
In the last issue you might have read about GeoVation, the Ordnance Survey run initiative looking to help fund great ideas that use geography.
waste wa er t eatmen
The first GeoVation Challenge ran last year, the winners of which have now all launched products, websites or smartphone applications with GeoVation funding and guidance. But as you might have read, GeoVation is back and looking to support another group of exciting, innovative and worthwhile ideas.
GeoVation could just help uncover the next revolution in transport but the project is also just as keen to support existing projects that might need some additional support and a cash injection. There is a prize fund of £25,000 available to award to winning ideas and whilst entrants aren’t limited to using Ordnance Survey data, there is also an additional prize available for the best use of any of the datasets freely available through OS OpenData.
Ordnance Survey has split this year’s GeoVation Awards into three separately themed challenges, the first of which was ‘How Can Britain Feed Itself?’ I say ‘was’ because it’s actually now closed to new entries, although you can still visit the site to read and rate the 52 ideas that have been contributed. But fear not, the chance to be involved has not passed you by; for the next Challenge is due to open at the end of September.
So if you’ve got a geography based transport idea why not submit it to GeoVation? The best entries will be invited to further develop their ideas at a GeoVation Camp before going on to pitch for funding at a ‘Dragons’ Den’ style showcase next year.
Usually in this column we take a look at the world of transport innovation by showcasing an ‘Idea in Transit’ but with the latest GeoVation Challenge, it is an opportunity for that idea to be yours. You see, the second Challenge is entirely focused on transportation and how geographic data can help us change the way we get from A to B.
The Ideas in Transit project is supporting this second GeoVation Challenge, so if you’re in need of inspiration you can visit the Innovation Portal at: ideasintransit.org/wiki/Ideas_in_Transit
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And when you’re ready to start GeoVating log onto GeoVation.org.uk.
You can also follow the project on Twitter for all the latest news at @GeoVation.
There are huge and exciting opportunities for geography to be harnessed to solve transport related problems,
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“The Race to Maintain Water Supplies” By Brian Pickworth, Technical Manager at Kingspan Environmental and, Deputy Chairman of the UK Rainwater Harvesting Association. what’s the problem …? Notwithstanding copious amounts of the wet-stuff falling regularly and freely from the skies, mains water supplies across wide swathes of the UK are under serious stress, most notably in the highly populated and relatively dry south-east of England. And, according to the Environment Agency, things are going to get much worse. According to its latest predictions, changes to the pattern and intensity of rainfall is likely to shift over the coming years resulting in a reduction of up to 15% in the water available for use. Combined with ongoing population growth, the impact of this could cause average summer river flow rates in England and Wales to fall by as much as 80% by 2050. Not surprisingly, therefore, Environment Agency reports conclude that rainwater harvesting (RWH) will become an increasingly important
source of non-drinking water for domestic, agricultural, industrial and commercial use.
policies & Regulations … This is reflected in Government policy papers such the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) and its commercial/ industrial counterpart set out in BREEAM assessment criteria. Quite apart from the requirements these impose on the carbon sustainability of new buildings, the need to be sustainable from the perspective of mains water consumption is also covered. Taking dwellings, for example, the CSH sets mandatory requirements for mains water use which at code level 1 or 2 means that consumption must be reduced from the national average of 150-litres per person per day to 120-litres. Already, meeting code levels 3 or 4 (105-litres) is mandatory for government-funded new homes, whilst by 2016 all new homes will need to be built to code level 5 or 6 (80-litres). These requirements are progressively being reflected in Building Regulations with an updated Part-G, for example, which came into force on 6th April 2010. For the first time the Regulations introduce the concept of two water supplies in the home, “wholesome” (ie mains) water for potable use, and “non-wholesome” (from some other source) for non-potable applications such as toilet-flushing, clothes-washing and the outside tap. The Regulations
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baths at all; where this would not be accepted by the market, then water substitution would be a very cost-effective alternative. When code levels 5 & 6 become mandatory in 2016, water substitution would in any case be necessary to achieve the mains-water economies required, with in most cases there being no parallel need to also economise on bath size. So if we are not careful and fail to install RWH now, housing produced between now and 2016 might become unique in being fitted with small baths! also impose maximum mains-water consumption requirements, which must be met using an associated official calculator, before the building can be signed-off by the Building Inspector.
water substitution … Using non-wholesome water in-lieu of mains water where appropriate helps to meet the water efficiency requirements of both Building Regulations and CSH. The simplest and most cost-effective way of doing this in most cases is to revert to the historic practice of harvesting rainwater for local re-use. Installing a RWH system while a building is being constructed is very straightforward, with the water storage tank being coupled to the normal guttering and down-pipes as part of the general drainage works. The water in the tank is then delivered automatically on demand via a management system using entirely separate pipework that at no stage comes into contact with pipework carrying mains water. The amount of mains water saved depends upon the relationship between the size of the roof and the occupancy of the building; in the home the saving will be up to 50% (see graph), rising to well in excess of 80% in public buildings.
Impact on consumption … Levels 1 and 2 of the CSH can in all probability be met by water economy measures such as smaller dual-flush toilet cisterns, water-efficient sinks, bowls and baths, aerated tap and shower heads, and water-efficient clothes and dish washers.
the big picture … Around 8-million new homes need to be built over the next four decades which, if fitted with rainwater harvesting systems, could reduce reliance on mains supplies by around 40 cubic metres per property per year, 320-million cubic metres per year collectively. To this could be added the potential for fitting/retrofitting systems to suitable commercial, industrial and agricultural buildings which conservatively might more than double the above figure thus reducing the UK’s mains water consumption by around 10%. Rainwater harvesting can also make an elegant contribution to reducing flood risks on new development sites as part of the three-levels approach favoured by local authorities for future sustainable urban drainage systems. This is achieved at the “local” level by reducing overall run-off by fitting individual RWH systems to suitable properties; the run-off from these is then used to contribute to the “area” level communal RWH systems installed for groups of smaller properties, the occupation density of which does not otherwise lend itself to costeffective individual systems. The remaining run-off is minimised by the above upstream storage and usage, and is then fed to “regional” (ie site-wide) attenuation arrangements such as balancing ponds or swales (ideally) or accessible attenuation tanks which can be maintained and thus adopted by the local authority. For further information on RWH visit www.ukrha.org
To make the mains water savings demanded by levels 3 and 4 of the code, however, would in all probability require extending the above economising measures to include installation of much smaller baths, or even no ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |23|
SOMETHING IS AFOOT... It’s all afoot in the political world at the moment and I’m not going to add to the endless column inches about Miliband the Younger. Instead, my gaze is directed towards Caroline Spelman. You see I detect a real shift in policy. It’s a shift from the prevention of climate change to adaptation to climate change. Indeed we seem to have a new zeitgeist in which we recognise the inevitable consequences of a changing climate, and prepare for them. There is an emphasis on preparation and the call is being led by the Committee on Climate Change (there’s a title to inspire confidence!) and echoed by the CBI no less. Those countries that have planned ahead and prepared will be in a far better position to survive in something akin to their existing social and economic structures than those that don’t. That, essentially, is what Caroline Spelman said when she stated that “people must start preparing now for the unavoidable impacts of climate change, to protect our economy, infrastructure and way of life” in answering a report from the Adaptation SubCommittee - a body I had never heard of which is doing one of the most important jobs there is.
“This Government is pushing ahead with measures to ensure that climate change adaptation becomes an ingrained part of how we manage our natural environment – particularly in critical areas such as water efficiency, biodiversity and food production.” “Adapting to climate change may also offer some major opportunities. The transition to a low carbon, well-adapted global economy could create hundreds of thousands of sustainable green jobs. But we must – all of us – take steps now to recognise the problem, analyse the risk and plan ahead.” There is a chilling, almost Darwinian, message underlying this; only the fittest will survive. The government, through whichever committee or sub committee, is recognising and stating the facts. She reeled of the statistics. The last decade has been the warmest on record. Last winter was the coldest for 30 years. This July was the wettest since records began. Eight of the last ten years have seen floods that were previously considered one in fifty year events and the insurance sector is reeling following year after year of record-breaking payouts. Many concerned organisations voiced fears over the emphasis on adaptation over mitigation - but she said |24| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The
Steve Grant Column they were ‘both sides of the same coin’. “I’d like to make something very clear. This Government will not give up the battle to tackle the causes of climate change. Quite the reverse – we are committed to providing global leadership in achieving agreements to bring down greenhouse gas emissions internationally and to drive down our own emissions at home.” So there we have it – but what next? Well – what happened next is that Caroline Spelman served up no less that 30 ‘green’ quangos to the chopping block. Some may find it disturbing that there are that many to be served up, but when they include the Sustainable Development Commission and the Royal Commission for Environmental Pollution, one has to take pause. The SDC exists not just to advise ministers, but to scrutinise the Government’s progress and implementation. This is one ‘quango’ that would certainly seem well worth retaining. Indeed, I may make so rash as to say possibly even strengthening. After all – this government has declared that it will be the greenest ever. How are we to know if the watchdogs are to be put to sleep? The Royal Commission is another matter altogether. It’s been providing an independent and objective service for forty years – it’s not some Blairesque bunch dreamed up a few years ago as a kneejerk reaction to one issue or another. The RCEP has the kind of depth and breadth of expertise that can only be gained over four crucial decades, and it would seem more relevant and valuable by the day. One can only hope that the components which comprise this resource will not be lost. It’s budget? £1 million. Now either that is outstanding value for money, or I’m missing something altogether (which has been known, of course). So it just me, or do you also sense that there’s something not quite kosher about all this? The Secretary of State’s speech can be seen at http:// ww2.defra.gov.uk/2010/09/16/climate-adapt-ascspeech/ steve@stephenmgrant.com
Coastal Management 2011 Innovative Coastal Zone Management: Sustainable Engineering for a Dynamic Coast 15-16 November 2011, Belfast, UK
ICE Call for Papers The Institution of Civil Engineers is inviting prospective authors to submit papers for presentation on the following topics: Innovative coastal planning, design and management, including coastal defence Coast and near shore renewable energy systems Social, environmental and climatic change Coastal policy - legislation, targets and the future Funding and accountability - investment, opportunities and growth Vital infrastructure for trade, transport and tourism Effective estuarine and coastal engineering Visit ice-coastalmanagement.com to submit an abstract and for more information Media partners:
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Coastal Management 2011 Innovative Coastal Zone Management: Sustainable Engineering for a Dynamic Coast 15-16 November 2011, Belfast, UK
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Supporters: British Hydropower Association Canadian Society of Civil Engineering Coastal and Marine Union Coastal Groups of England and Wales Danish Society of Engineers Devon Maritime Forum Dorset Coast Forum Engineers Ireland ICE Northern Ireland Industrial and Power Association Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology Institution of Engineers, Malaysia Institution of Mechanical Engineers Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand Inter-American Committee on Ports of the Organization of American States International Network on Offshore Renewable Energy Laboratorio Nacional de Engenharia Civil Local Government Association Special Interest Group on Coastal Issues Northern Ireland Coastal and Marine Forum Northern Ireland Environment Agency PIANC Renewable Energy Association Society of Environmental Engineers
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Facing the challenge from Environmental Legislation By Ian Rippin, Commercial Director of the National Laboratory Service (NLS) The Water Framework Directive (WFD), as a significant restructuring of European water legislation, has been described as economically unrealistic and disproportionate. Nevertheless it heralds a significant change to the regulatory landscape and has implications for most organisations that operate in the environmental sector. UK plans for the adoption of the directive, are as advanced as any.
behind its original schedule. Of the 27 EU members states required to establish plans for their river basins, only 16 countries had published plans by the December 2009 deadline. Of the remaining countries, some delivered draft plans by the deadline but 8 EU states did not publish anything at all. To its credit, the UK is one of the few European Union countries to have published its river basin management plans by the deadline.
Delivering ‘good status’ Described by DEFRA as the ‘most substantial piece of EC water legislation to date’, WFD came into force in December 2000 and was put into UK law in 2003. Since 2009 the UK’s WFD preparations have ramped up, resulting in the publication of new water management plans and the deployment of monitoring activities to better determine how close we are to achieving the new standard. After all the planning, WFD is finally coming of age.
This setback to EU wide adoption is not surprising. WFD will not only bring in specific new environmental disciplines over water management, it will also significantly widen the purpose and reach of them. It will no longer be enough merely to protect the water environment from pollution and other threats. The requirement in future will be to regard water systems as part of broader ecosystems and manage them - and re-build them where necessary - in the interests of all aspects of natural water sources.
The sense of urgency to move from planning phase to implementation is being driven by the first really significant WFD environmental target which is now on the horizon. The Directive dictates that by 2015 all waters, surface waters and groundwaters – including lakes, streams and rivers, as well as estuaries and coastal waters to one mile from low water – must achieve ‘good status’. ‘Good status’ incorporates both chemical parameters (meaning low levels of pollution) as well as ecological ones.
The scale of the challenge for some countries would appear to be enormous. Northern Europe is well represented in the River Basin Management Plans published to date but Southern Europe needs to catch up. Worryingly, many of the river basins in Southern Europe are known to have multiple water quality problems. Their environmental issues are expected to require considerable resources and time to address.
At the heart of the Directive lies the requirement for countries to designate river basin management areas, which have been championed as the most appropriate model to follow in order to allow for a single system of water management. River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) associated with these areas, specify the measures that need to be taken in order to achieve ‘good status’ in all water bodies by the 2015 deadline. Once established, RBMPs can be updated every six years. The Directive dictates that each of the 110 river basin districts in the EC must be covered by a RBMP. Plans needed to have been published by Christmas last year. Implementation stalls But implementation of WFD is already running far |26| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
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A snapshot of the condition of English rivers, published by the Environment Agency in 2009, highlights that only five rivers — four in Northumberland and one in North Wales — met the tough new water quality standards, as set out in the EU Water Framework Directive. This initial assessment of the pressures facing each water body, confirmed that diffuse pollution – being pollution that can occur from a range of activities including runoff from roads, houses and commercial areas, farmland and seepage into groundwater from developed landscapes - is the most significant issue in England and Wales. Up to 82% of rivers, 53%of lakes and 75% of groundwater bodies are considered ‘at risk’ from diffuse pollutants, especially from agricultural nutrients. The Environment Agency concludes that the risks from diffuse pollution ‘will make it very difficult for the UK to achieve the Water Framework Directive’s (WFD) objectives’. Assessing the impact Organisations in the UK’s environmental sector and those whose operations are governed by environmental legislation face significant challenges that have to be met in this changing regulatory landscape. On Industry - Under the Directive any company that holds a permit to discharge water, such as businesses within the food and drink industry, must carry out tests to ensure that they are not introducing pollutants into the water. This monitoring will revolve around assessing exactly what is going into a certain river basin that could result in higher pollution levels than those permitted under the WFD. On Water Companies – In April of this year, UK Water companies, through their collaborative research body - UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) - began a substantial programme of chemical investigations into the management and control of concentrations of Priority Substances and other pollutants under WFD, the aim of which is to establish the extent of the problem, which under the ‘polluter pays’ principal, could require significant infrastructure investment. UK Water estimates this could be in the region of £100 billion over the next 20 years. On Regulators - Analysing for lower levels of pollutants in the water brings with it the associated challenge of determining the source of some of these pollutants. In the run up to 2015, the pressure is on to ensure that all river basins have the best chance of achieving ‘good |28| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
status’. As a result, many expect to see the regulatory framework become a lot tougher, especially on industry that discharges into waters; it being the job of the regulator to make sure it can control any discharges that may cause pollution under these tighter regulations. On Laboratories - WFD signals the arrival of lower detection rates for selected compounds within the water testing process. Existing analytical methods do not have the ability to test to such low levels as laid out under the Directive – thus opening up the doors on new opportunities for Research and Development. It is crucial that these developments in techniques and enhanced methodologies are fully achieved and completed in order to meet the requirements of the Directive. Given the current economic climate, perhaps the most significant impact on those tasked with implementing the WFD is that of funding. There are indications that many member states, even those most responsive to the WFD, have underestimated the scale of investment required. Despite these challenges, the European Commission is keen to promote what is generally perceived as widespread support for the key innovation that sits behind WFD, integration being the central principle. WFD aims to bring together environmental objectives, combining quality, ecological and quantity objectives for protecting highly valuable aquatic ecosystems and ensuring a general good status of other waters. The architects of WFD intended for it to become the single piece of water related legislation, replacing a number of directives, all of which address different aspects of water management in some shape or form. The process of overruling these separate pieces of legislation has now started but the implementation of WFD principles remains a significant challenge for all. All images © NLS
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Water Framework Directive and Environmental and Wastewater Analysis By Rakesh Kanda, Principal Research Scientist, Severn Trent Services.
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a European Union Directive focused on ecology and the protection of the aquatic environment. The Direction includes surface waters, groundwater, estuaries and coastal waters within a mile from low water. The WFD sets out a number of objectives required to prevent deterioration of the status of surface water and groundwater bodies. The status of a water body is judged using separate “ecological and chemical classification” systems. To achieve ‘good status’ overall, a water body must achieve both good ecological and good chemical status. The Ecological classification system has five classes, from high to bad, and uses the following criteria for assessment: • • • •
Biological assessments Hydromorphological assessments Chemical assessments Physico-chemical assessments
The chemical assessment within the Ecological classification refers to polluting substances that could adversely affect ecology. These pollutant standards will be set by each of the European member states according to the procedure outlined in the WFD. The Chemical classification system for surface waters - used for the most polluting substances - has only two classes, good or failing to achieve good. These are assessed according to whether water meets Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) for substances listed in the Dangerous Substances Directive (Annex IX) of the WFD, associated daughter directives and in the WFD Priority List Substances (Annex X). An EQS is a concentration of a specific chemical or group of chemicals that is set to protect aquatic life, although they must also take into account risks to contamination of sediments and prey species. Annex X identifies 33 substances or groups of substances, which present a significant risk for European Waters.
ANNEX X LIST OF PRIORITY SUBSTANCES IN THE FIELD OF WATER POLICY (1) Alachlor
(2) Anthracene
(3) Atrazine
(4) Benzene
(5) Brominated diphenylether Pentabromodiphenylether (congener numbers 28, 47, 99, 100, 153 and 154)
(6) Cadmium and its compounds
(7) Chloroalkanes, C10-13
(8) Chlorfenvinphos
(9) Chlorpyrifos
(10) 1,2-dichloroethane
(11) Dichloromethane
(12) Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
(13) Diuron
(14) Endosulfan
(15) Fluoranthene
(16) Hexachlorobenzene
(17) 87-68-3 201-765-5 Hexachlorobutadiene
(18) 608-73-1 210-158-9 Hexachlorocyclohexane
(19) 34123-59-6 251-835-4 Isoproturon
(20) 7439-92-1 231100-4 Lead and its compounds
(21) Mercury and its compounds
(22) Naphthalene
(23) Nickel and its compounds
(24) Nonylphenol (4-nonylphenol)
(25) Octylphenol
(26) Pentachlorobenzene
(27) Pentachlorophenol
(28) Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (Benzo(a)pyrene) (Benzo(b)fluoranthene) (Benzo(g,h,i)perylene) (Benzo(k)fluoranthene) (Indeno(1,2,3-cd) pyrene)
(29) Simazine
(30) Tributyltin compounds
(31) Trichlorobenzenes
(32) Trichloromethane (chloroform)
(33) 1582-09-8 216-428-8 Trifluralin In addition to the substances listed in Annex X, a further 13 substances are provided in Annex III of Directive 2008/105/EC which (subject to review) may be included in the WFD list of priority or priority hazardous substances.
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ANNEX III SUBSTANCES SUBJECT TO REVIEW FOR POSSIBLE IDENTIFICATION AS PRIORITY SUBSTANCES AMPA
Bentazon
Bisphenol-A
Dicofol
EDTA
Free cyanide
Glyphosate
Mecoprop (MCPP)
Musk xylene
Perfluorooctane sulphonic acid (PFOS)
Quinoxyfen (5,7-dichloro4-(p-fluorophenoxy) quinoline)
Dioxins
PCB Environmental and waster water analysis New environmental quality standards, often at very low concentrations, continue to place technical demands on analytical laboratories. The requirement to meet low limits of detection for emerging compounds in complex matrices represents a considerable challenge for traditional methods and therefore new procedures. Utilising advanced techniques, such as high resolution or tandem mass spectrometry, have become commonplace in environmental testing laboratories.
to ensure that wastewater discharges to surface water are within controlled limits. To have a better understanding of its position with regard to WFD, the UK water industry, working in collaboration with UKWIR, the Environment Agency and other regulators, has started a national programme of work, “The Chemicals Investigation Programme” or CIP. This programme will investigate a large range of WFD and other emerging contaminants that are potentially discharged from wastewater treatment plants. The programme covers more than 45 target substances, including metals, industrial chemicals, biocides, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupters. The overall aim of the CIP is to provide a sound and technically justifiable basis for future measures to be taken to achieve good chemical status under the WFD.
For example, the Environmental Quality Standard for Tributyltin and individual congeners of pentabromodiphenylether is 0.2 ng/L which requires the use of high sensitivity and high selectivity instrumentation e.g. GC/MS-MS. The detection of these compounds at such low concentrations would have been extremely difficult only a few years ago but is now routine. The European Commission requires analytical methods for Water Framework Directive monitoring to meet method validation in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17025 and requires that the limit of quantification is less than or equal to 30% of the relevant EQS and also requires the relative target uncertainty at the EQS is below or equal to 50%. Laboratories are required to demonstrate competence by participation in proficiency schemes and in the analysis of appropriate reference materials. Some determinands e.g. short chained chlorinated paraffins (SCCP) continue to present a challenge, even with highly selective instrumentation e.g. GC/MSMS using electron ionisation or negative ion chemical ionisation mass spectrometry. Further research is required to enable their measurement at such low concentrations. Current research The water industry has obligations to undertake monitoring of priority substances detailed in the WFD. Whilst sewerage undertakers do not have sole responsibility for ensuring that EQS’s are met, they need |32| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Conclusion The Water Framework Directive will rationalise and update existing wastewater and environmental legislation, helping to protect and improve the status of water bodies. Analytical laboratories that undertake environmental and wastewater testing will play a key role in developing and applying analytical methods to meet the low detection limits required to detect certain determinands at the required environmental quality standards. Email: Rakesh.kanda@stsanalytical.com
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Heat Pumps Schemes: Unravelling the Confusion By Tom Garrigan, BSRIA Senior Test Engineer and specialist for heat pumps In European Union countries, including the UK, tightening legislation on energy efficiency for buildings favours the use of renewable energy and heat pumps are increasingly becoming a part of the energy mix. In the UK, the market for heat pumps has been growing quickly in 2009 and, although it is still much smaller than other European markets, it is expected to grow at high two-digit rates in the future. (Source: BSRIA’s latest Heat Pump Study 2010) In order to enable the end users to reap the true benefits of the growing heat pump technology, many European countries have set up different certification and incentive schemes with the common aim to promote awareness and proper deployment of heat pumps and encourage the purchase of higher efficiency products. Some of the certification schemes in individual countries, including the UK, are supported by incentive schemes and some that are on the European level, such as Eco-label, are not. However all the schemes only support the products that have achieved a certain performance standard, providing confidence and reassurance to the end users that they are choosing a good quality product. The performance of heat pumps is measured as a coefficient of performance (COP). Although there are different acceptance criteria for COP between the schemes, what brings them together is the one European standard EN 14511 and the fact that only the products tested to this standard by accredited and approved laboratories are accepted by the schemes, offering consumers further confidence in independently assessed products. Given the above, accredited test laboratories, such as BSRIA, play an important role in the field of increasing the quality of heat pump technology. There are two main schemes specifically run in the UK: the MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme), and the ECA scheme (Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme). |34| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The MCS scheme, supported by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, focuses on product and installer certification, with grants available to applicants who meet the required criteria. Grants of up to £2,500 per property are available to households, community organisations, public, private and no profit sectors. Heat pumps with a capacity up to 45kW are accepted, however each technology has a minimum COP requirement. All thermal performance tests are carried out in accordance with EN14511 and heat pumps have to be tested by a UKAS accredited or similar test laboratory. In addition to thermal performance tests, safety tests have to be conducted in accordance with part 4 of EN14511. Sound characteristic tests are also a requirement of the MCS scheme and have to be carried out in accordance with ENV12102. This scheme, also requires a factory production control visit to further ensure the consistent quality of the accepted products. Another UK scheme is the ECA (the Enhanced Capital Allowance) scheme managed by the Carbon Trust on behalf on the Department of Energy and Climate. When applying for the ECA scheme, a manufacturer can self -declare the coefficient of performance (COP) of their unit at the prescribed EN14511 test conditions. Provided the declared values meet the minimum performance criteria for each technology, the heat pump will be added to the Energy Technology Product List (ETPL). The ETPL is audited annually and a selection of units from each technology and multiple manufacturers are chosen to be tested by an independent test laboratory with UKAS accreditation or similar. When the units are tested independently, the manufacturer declared values must be at least 95% of the independent test results in order to remain on the ETPL. Companies buying listed products can claim the “enhanced capital allowance”, which is a tax benefit against the purchase cost of the heat pump and other direct costs such as delivery cost, installation and
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provide confidence to the end users when choosing products of higher quality.
Both the MCS and the ECA schemes require the same test point for air to water, water to water and brine to water heat pumps.
Eco-label, the official EU mark for Greener Products, is a voluntary scheme whose criteria are evaluated by independent accredited third parties. The European Eco-label, also known as “the Flower” due to its flower logo, also denotes products with high environmental performance. Products that meet the criteria can carry the flower logo, which is recognised throughout the European Union and EEA countries.
In Ireland there are currently two main schemes running, both managed by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI): the Greener Homes Scheme (GHS) and the Home Heating Appliance Register of Performance (HARP) Grants are available through the Greener Homes Scheme (GHS) for homes occupied prior to the 30th June 2008. The required water to water and brine to water test condition for the Greener Homes Scheme is the same as the MCS and ECA schemes, however two test points are required for air to water heat pumps. Part of the Home Heating Appliance Register of Performance (HARP) focuses on heat pumps and each technology has a minimum COP requirement based on the average of multiple test points i.e. air to water heat pumps require three test points in accordance with EN14511. The performance data from the thermal performance tests is used to determine the Building Energy Rating (BER), which was made compulsory to homes being sold or rented from the 1st of January 2009. There are many other schemes on a local level in other countries within the EU but the main quality label running in Europe is Eco-label. Although it does not have the backing of incentive programmes, this scheme
Image: Ecotec heat pumps under testing to EN 14511 at BSRIA |36| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The European Eco-label accepts both electric and gas heat pumps with a maximum heating capacity of 100kW but does not cover heat pumps that can only provide domestic hot water for sanitary use. Sound characteristic tests in accordance with ENV12102 are also a requirement of the European Eco-label. The existance of all these schemes and the one European standard also mean there is a lot of pressure on the heat pump manufacturers to continuously produce higher quality products. It is important that the independent accredited test laboratories, such as BSRIA, can work together with the manufacturers in assessing their product’s thermal performance, power consumption and noise, not only for standard compliance but also during product development. This will ensure that their product achieves the required efficiency which will deliver the benefits to end users. Tom Garrigan is BSRIA Senior Test Engineer and specialist for heat pumps. www.bsria.co.uk
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WATER Page 40 - 42 - The World is Neglecting Santitation, Margaret Betty, Director of Policy, Wateraid Page 44 - 49 - How to Reduce Your Bathroom’s Carbon Footprint- Yvonne Orgill, Chief Executive - BMA Page 50 - 54 - MCERTS: An Inspector Calls - Tony Hoyle, ABB Instrumentation and Chairman of SWIG Page 56 - 59 - Trenchless Technologies - Ian Clarke, No-Dig Media (UKSTT) Page 61 - 66 - WWEM - Show Preview
|38| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The world is neglecting sanitation By Margaret Betty, Director of Policy and Campaigns In July, at the UN General Assembly in New York, access to water and sanitation was declared a basic human right, ‘essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights; Yet almost one billion people lack access to safe, clean water and, even worse, 2.6 billion people are still in desperate need of somewhere safe and hygienic to go to the toilet. On 19 November it is World Toilet Day, an opportunity to consider the importance of sanitation. The consequences of living without sanitation and safe drinking water are numerous, life-threatening and have a direct knock-on effect on all other aspects of development. The statistics are startling: • An estimated 4,000 children die from diarrhoea caused by poor sanitation and dirty water daily, 2,000 of these in Africa, where diarrhoea is now the biggest killer of children under five. • At any one time, half the hospital beds in developing countries are filled with people suffering from diseases caused by poor sanitation and water, putting a huge pressure on already over-burdened health systems. • Over 443 million school days are lost every year due to the resulting diseases, often diarrhoea. • Some 5.6 billion working days would be gained annually if there were universal access to safe water and sanitation. • It has been estimated that for every dollar invested in water and sanitation, there is at least an $8 return. A lack of sanitation has the greatest impact on the ‘bottom billion’ – the poorest and most vulnerable people in society, particularly women and children. Girls miss school days once they reach puberty due to the shame and embarrassment of managing menstruation without the privacy of a toilet. This undermines their chance for education and ultimately keeps them out of positions of power in society, where they may be able to initiate real change. |40| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The continuing neglect of the sanitation Millennium Development Goal target (to halve the proportion of people living without this basic human right by 2015) represents a shocking failure. Governments and the aid community are failing to recognise the centrality of sanitation and foster an integrated approach to international development. At current rates of progress, the 2015 target will not be met globally until 2049; in Sub-Saharan Africa, not until the 23rd Century. The distribution of aid by country also reveals worrying trends, such as middle income countries receiving the lion’s share of aid to the sector. A lack of political will means that sanitation is not prioritised in development agendas. Health and education are much easier to sell and politicians often gain more publicity from the construction of new hospitals and schools, than from championing a cause associated with social taboos. A practical approach Without toilets, people often have no choice but to defecate in open areas surrounding their community, allowing disease to spread. Human waste is deadly; just one gram of human faeces can contain 10,000,000 viruses. Hygienic latrines provide a safe way to dispose of human waste and, together with improved hygiene practices such as hand-washing with soap, can prevent diseases being spread by water, soil, flies and human contact. Earlier this year I visited WaterAid’s country programmes in Ghana. In 2009, residents of Gozakope, a rural community in the Dangme West District of Ghana, constructed household latrines for the first time in over a century. This was as a result of a community-led total sanitation (CLTS) approach, led by WaterAid’s local partner in Ghana. The approach involves a facilitator who tackles various behaviours, social taboos and barriers to eliminating open defecation and improving sanitation practices, through a process of community mobilisation. WaterAid country programmes in West Africa have been using CLTS-based approaches successfully for almost a decade. The approach, originally developed in Bangladesh, is adapted according to each rural community. In some villages in Burkina Faso and Mali, for example, people are ashamed or embarrassed to be seen walking in the direction of a latrine or toilet as other people will know they are going to relieve themselves, feeling that defecating in the bush offers more privacy. Overcoming social taboos is crucial to tackling the sanitation crisis. In Ghana, WaterAid went through various exercises with the community to understand their behaviour and map out defecation routes using the ‘walk of shame’, leading the community members to the defecation site and holding discussions at the scene.
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These exercises created awareness in the community of the unpleasant results of defecating in the open, prompting them to take action. According to the Headman of Gozakope village in Ghana, Togbui John Goza, his great grandfathers settled in the community in 1914 and, until late last year when they were introduced to CLTS, nobody had ever owned a latrine. Instead, community members defecated in the open. Togbui Goza said, “When we drew the defecation map of Gozakope, we were embarrassed. We didn’t know how awful the situation was. You can see from the map that every household was defecating in the open. So we decided to stop the open defecation and build our own latrines.” The construction of the latrines was then undertaken by the community members themselves, who choose the type of latrine they would like to build, using the locally available materials, such as clay and grass. In addition to our work on the ground, WaterAid works locally and internationally to change policy and practice to ensure that the vital role sanitation plays in reducing poverty is recognised. Governments have a responsibility to address this basic human need. We use our practical experience to demonstrate how they and other organisations can do so in an effective and sustainable way. Access to safe water and sanitation underpins health, education and livelihoods, and forms the first, essential step in overcoming poverty. Concerted action is needed now to realise the right to water and sanitation that so many people desperately need. Margaret Batty joined WaterAid in 2008 as Director of Policy and Campaigns. Margaret has over 25 years’ experience in the NGO sector, national and local Government, EU Institutions and the UN. WaterAid is a leading independent organisation which enables the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Working in 26 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific region, WaterAid campaigns globally with local partners to realise a vision of a world where everyone has access to these basic human rights. WaterAid 47-49 Durham Street London, SE11 5JD UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7793 4500 Fax: +44 (0)20 7793 4545 Website: www.wateraid.org |42| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Image: © WaterAid - LaytonThompson - Children jump over a dirty stream of water flowing from a wash house, Mwenyekondo, Lilongwe, Malawi.
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For further information call +44 (0)1484 465610, email radicon@davidbrown.com or visit www.davidbrown.com/water ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |43|
How to Reduce Your Bathroom’s Carbon Footprint
Image: ©BMA
Yvonne Orgill, Chief Executive of the Bathroom Manufacturers Association, looks at the progress being made Water is one of our most undervalued natural commodities. Although recent floods, in many parts of the globe, seem to assure us that water is plentiful, it is in the wrong place, at the wrong time and only 1% of it is drinkable. Members of the Bathroom Manufacturers Association have been working hard in recent years to develop products which are super-water-efficient and have been keen to update their portfolios to ensure that the products they offer are at the leading edge of eco-technology. There is now more choice than ever before and there is a genuine drive to design gorgeous looking ‘kit’ which is easy to install and thoroughly enjoyable to use. Bright, new, contemporary style bathrooms which use less water and less energy and save on those ever increasing utility bills are appearing at all the major interior design exhibitions. Designers have risen to the market’s increasing demand for eco-friendly bathroom products. Water and energy are inextricably linked The UK’s population of 61 million is demanding more and more water. It is well known that water consumption has risen by 70% over the last 30 years and the Government is concerned that this level of growth cannot be sustained. Domestic water use is around 150 litres per person per day and the Government has set a target to reduce this to 130 litres per day by 2030. Reducing the water consumption of every UK household is now a priority and water efficiency is at the very top of the bathroom designers’ agenda. But they know that if they can design ground-breaking water efficient products then they will also be creating bathrooms which save energy. “Water efficiency means not only saving water but also saving the carbon required in delivering and using it,” says Orgill. “We consume huge quantities of energy in purifying, transporting and delivering water. We then consume huge quantities of energy to take away the |44| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
waste and purify it once more.” The latest statistics show that an average UK family emits the equivalent of two transatlantic flights in carbon through its water consumption every year and pumping both clean water and waste water to and from homes and then treating it accounts for around 1% of the UK’s total energy consumption. Water efficiency and energy efficiency and this carbon footprint are therefore inextricably linked. Super-efficient bathroom products In the last couple of years nearly every new bathroom product brought to market has been designed with water efficiency and energy efficiency in mind. Manufacturers are keen to help reduce the bathroom’s carbon footprint. There have been some remarkable developments. The Toilet: The humble WC has seen major technological changes. To the consumer there would appear to be no difference since the toilet bowl seems to look just the same as it ever did. But the latest WC suites are totally unlike their ancestors. Designers have employed computer-aided modeling to create suites with clever water passages to use every last drop of the flush water. The 13 litre flush-guzzlers of the 1960s have been transformed into the minimalistic 2.6 litre abstainers of today and a newly installed frugal WC can be expected to save huge amounts of water. Some new suites have a special fill valve in the cistern. This clever device - the Delayed Action Inlet Valve - stops water continuing to fill the cistern until the flush has completely finished. Small but valuable quantities of water are saved with the device. Some manufacturers have gone a step further in their quest for a super-efficient loo. They have introduced glazes (the shiny surface to pottery) which are, at the microscopic level, very very smooth indeed. These super glossy glazes are super slippery and assist in the fast passage of water to clear the contents of the bowl.
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Taps Some members of the BMA are specialist manufacturers of taps and showers and have spent much time and effort creating products which are both eco- friendly and easy to install.
The Bath: Baths have also come a long way in reducing water and energy consumption. Although the shower is more popular than ever and can be a real water saving alternative to the ‘tub’, some consumers will always love a good stress-busting soak and the bath is set to be around for a very long time yet.
The very latest low-flow products come with both special click-stop action and new temperature limiters, both of which reduce carbon footprint and enhance bathroom safety.
The maximum bath capacity allowed in law in a new property (without requiring special permission from the local water authority) is 230 litres to the overflow. With special shaping, some modern eco-friendly baths require less than 140 litres but still provide a satisfying wallow. Some designers have gone further and have introduced new materials which mould to the body to reduce water consumption even further. This 90 litre reduction in the standard bath’s hot water requirement represents a major saving. The consumer can relax in the knowledge that the very latest ecofriendly baths will save water and energy and will go a long way in reducing the family’s carbon foot print. Showers: The shower has always been regarded as the low volume, low energy alternative to the bath. But research is proceeding at a pace to reduce consumption even further. Some members of the BMA now produce shower units with special showerheads which cleverly blend air with water to create tiny bubbles which explode on impact with the skin. The result is a refreshing shower which uses less water than ever before. These eco-showerheads can save as much as 75% of the water used even at the same water pressure. The shower control itself has been the subject of much research and ‘outside-the-box’ thinking and the latest digital products are available at increasingly affordable prices. Besides being easy to install and easy to use, the intuitive controls can be set to give maximum water efficiency. They can even shut off after a set period of time to stop a wayward teenager spending all day in the shower, adding to the utility bills! Instantaneous electric showers probably have the best water and energy saving credentials since they only heat water as it is required. Hot water is not stored before use since cold water is heated as required at the point of delivery. The latest models are high powered and thermostatic for a satisfying and safe shower. Image right: ©Johnson Tiles |46| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
These cleverly designed units give a tactile and an audible click so that users can easily tell when the tap is on full flow or half flow; so if a user needs to fill the washbasin quickly a full flow would be chosen. However, if the user was cleaning his or her teeth then a half flow would be sufficient. The built-in temperature limiter can be set to reduce the risk of scalding and reduce the amount of hot water demanded from the boiler. Ultra-modern taps are beginning to appear with digital controls and in-built displays which show the user, first hand, how much water he or she is using. Some taps glow red when hot water is passing through them and blue when cold is used. The styling of these taps and mixer fittings has come a long way. Gorgeous curvaceous contemporary models have arrived and so too have simple joystick controls. But contemporary style may not suit a traditional bathroom, and in this case, ‘classic’ taps can be found with special ‘flow restrictors’ as part of the package. Spray taps have their place and are particularly useful in the cloakroom or ensuite bathroom for hand washing.
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ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |47|
These achieve a minimal flow rate but still maintain satisfying use and an effective wash. Recycling: The launch of the new Building Regulations (Approved Document G) allows for the use of recycled ‘greywater’ or ‘harvested rainwater’ to flush the WC. This is a breakthrough in modern bathroom culture and signals a change in how we use our scarce water resources. It was common in Victorian times to save rainwater or dish-washing water to flush the loo. James Duckett’s ‘automatic tipper closet’ of 1887 was one such device and highly successful too. 100 years on we have come full circle to start using greywater again. Members of the BMA have been developing recycling products for a number of years and technically advanced systems are now available to both the householder and property developer. Some systems are incorporated into the house at the construction stage and help reduce the total amount of water used by its occupants. Greywater and rainwater harvesting systems trap and cleanse used water from the bath or rainwater from special collectors and store it ready to flush the toilet or water the lawn. Other products recycle water within the bathroom itself. WC+Washbasin combos take used water from the washbasin, filter and treat it for bacteria then use it to flush the WC. Clever technology is taking root in the bathroom and more of these advanced products are expected to become available in the years to come The Water Efficient Product Labelling Scheme Innovative and super-efficient bathroom products not only save water but save energy. Less hot water usage means less energy consumption and a smaller carbon footprint. But how does anyone embarking on the installation of a new bathroom find details of the most water and energy efficient products on offer? “It is difficult”, says Orgill. “Or at least it used to be. The BMA launched its Water Efficient Product Labelling Scheme a few years ago to answer that very question. The scheme was recently upgraded and 2010 has seen its rapid expansion.” |48| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Image above: ©BMA
WEPLS is an online database of bathroom products which anyone involved in installing new bathrooms can use to get the eco-information at a click. Products which meet strict eco criteria are listed in the scheme and the on-line award-winning database holds around 1,000 water/energy efficient products. The database has become the principal resource for anyone wishing to purchase sustainable bathroom products. The scheme currently covers seven categories: • WCs • Independent flushing cisterns • Shower controls • Shower handsets • Taps • Baths • Greywater recycling products. Visitors to the site can search through the lists provided. They may then create a shopping list of products and go on to search for their local stockist. Downloadable fact sheets and a water consumption calculator (at www.thewatercalculator.org.uk/ ) enhance the scheme’s usability. Links to manufacturers’ websites, scheme partners and UK Government sites add to the knowledge-base which the website creates. WEPLS is constantly being up-dated and expanded incorporating feedback from users. Visitors to the website have grown rapidly since November 2009, when a major upgrade enhanced its usability. Good clear reliable product labelling is the cornerstone of water efficiency. The key to WEPLS is therefore the
product label itself, which is similar in design to the familiar energy label found on white goods. It lists the category of product, the type of measurement, performance bands and the actual volume of water consumed. WEPLS has grown from a germ of an idea to a catalyst for water and energy efficiency in the home. It is recognised by Government departments (DEFRA, CLG and the Environment Agency), NGOs, The Energy Saving Trust, Waterwise, CC Water, major DIY stores, builders merchants and retailers. Architects and builders, in both the private and public sectors, find WEPLS invaluable. They search the database to select products which help them meet the requirements of The Code for Sustainable Homes and the Building Regulations Approved Document G. Bathroom buyers have a better choice than ever before and those who are eco-aware focus their attention on those goods with the best ratings. The information presented to them in the database, the label, PR and POS materials empowers them to make an informed choice. In March 2010 the scheme won a major award at the UK ‘ecobuild’ exhibition when judges, in their citation, said, “plain and simply, this represents a world-first for water labelling and is notable for being industry led, not Government imposed.” Visit www.water-efficiencylabel.org.uk/ For further information please email info@bathroom-association.org.uk or telephone 01782 747123 and visit www.bathroom-association.org
Image: ©BMA ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |49|
MCERTS: an inspecto calls
Tony Hoyle, UK Flow Products Manager for ABB Instrumentation and Chairman of the board of SWIG (Sensors for Water Interest Group)
regulations is also being progressively extended over time. For example, nuclear sites were brought under the MCERTS umbrella for the first time and must have had their inspections done by 31st March 2010. The EA’s original December 2008 deadline for those companies already covered by EPR to have MCERTS inspections passed with only a fraction of qualifying sites successfully certified.
Water Master - MCERTS
Meeting the MCERTS compliance deadline was just the first step for the many companies that fall under the EPR regulations. Tony Hoyle, ABB UK Product Flow Manager, explains that the new challenge facing these companies is maintaining their compliance in between inspections and ensuring that they are ready for their follow-up assessments. MCERTS is the Environment Agency’s certification scheme to ensure that companies have effective measures in place to monitor their effluent flow. Industrial sites need to meet MCERTS requirements whenever their discharges are monitored and controlled as part of their permits under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). EPR directly replaced the Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) regulations in April 2008. Some sectors, notably water, are ahead of the game, while other industries are still coming up to speed with their EPR and MCERTS obligations. The scope of the |50| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
This was not entirely unexpected, however. The demand for qualified MCERTS inspectors rose so sharply in the run up to the deadline that there was no way everyone was going to make it in time. The EA therefore decided not to penalise sites that overshot, as long as they booked in their inspections before the deadline and had them carried out within “a reasonable time”. Those sites that successfully complete the audit and inspection process are awarded a Site Conformity Inspection Certificate, which lasts for five years. However, it’s important to recognise that continued vigilance will be needed in the intervening years to prevent any problems cropping up the next time the inspector calls. If you’re still waiting… Those companies that are still waiting to be inspected for the first time need to make sure they are prepared. First, assess the current flow measurement arrangements to see whether they comply with MCERTS. Does the measuring system constitute the Best Available Technique (BAT)? Where the self-monitoring of effluent flow is concerned, operators are subject to a ±8% uncertainty target for the measurement of total
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daily volume of effluent discharged. This covers not only the equipment but also factors such as correct fitting and the training of relevant personnel to ensure that an installation is operating properly. As long as existing equipment meets the measurement standards, it need not be replaced. However, if new equipment is being installed, the BAT requirement will eventually mean using a meter from the EA’s published list of equipment that has been tested and MCERTified. The current list is available on the EA’s Website. But many equipment vendors are still at the stage of putting their instruments through the approvals process with the EA’s chosen certification body SIRA, so there may still be some leeway in using some uncertified equipment. For example, ABB WaterMaster meters are already certified but some of the company’s other models of meter are still being assessed. Having the right kit is just the start. For instance, is the metering system installed and maintained correctly and has its measurement accuracy been properly verified, perhaps by checking it against readings taken using another flow measurement technique? Reputable equipment vendors have a wealth of expertise in this area. For instance, ABB’s instrumentation service engineers can provide in-situ verification services for ABB meters using the CalMaster2 and VeriMaster suite of tools and can also use a variety of technologies to check third-party instruments. Finally, do you have the right people and processes in place to ensure that the flow readings will continue to be accurate in future? This is vital, since the inspector and Sira will be auditing procedures as well as checking the installations. If in doubt about any of the requirements, it may be worth getting external advice. Calling in the consultants is one option but reputable equipment vendors can often provide advice on installing and operating flow monitoring systems correctly. Once you have your certificate… Once issued, the MCERTS conformance certificate covers the site for five years but companies will be expected to take demonstrable, proactive actions to keep up their effluent monitoring performance during that time. Furthermore, just as car owners are responsible for ensuring that their vehicles always have a valid MOT certificate, EPR-regulated site operators must make sure that their MCERTification status is not jeopardised by a lack of preparation in the run-up to any subsequent inspections. The EA has therefore decided that companies may |52| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
opt to have their next inspection carried out up to 12 months before their old certificate runs out. If they pass, their new certificate will cover them for five years from the date that their old certificate expires. If they fail, they will be expected to take any necessary remedial action as soon as possible and definitely in time to be recertified before the previous certificate runs out. MCERTS does not explicitly prescribe the use of a particular management system but working to an accepted BS or EN standard can be an excellent way to make sure all the requirements are met, including providing the added reassurance of annual external audits. At the very least, companies should be keeping clear records to show that they are carrying out their own regular checks. For example, it may be a good idea to use a videographic recorder, like ABB’s ScreenMaster range, to log the data. The performance of flow meters should be checked and verified annually and visual surveys carried out on the surrounding installation to make sure that nothing is interfering with the readings. For example, has anyone routed a high-voltage cable where it might interfere with an electromagnetic meter, or rerouted effluent pipe work without letting the person responsible for environmental monitoring know?
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A fresh approach MCERTS and the self-monitoring of effluent flow is just part of a wider philosophy within the EA to promote “better regulation”. This means encouraging companies to comply with and even exceed legal requirements without constant supervision. Society demands high standards of environmental responsibility while businesses want a regulatory regime that minimises bureaucracy. Better regulation will effectively reward good performers with lower costs and more autonomy. On the other hand, those companies that don’t measure up could face severe penalties, so the onus is now on industry and water companies to get it right. For more information about MCERTS compliance, email moreinstrumentation@gb.abb.com or call 0870 600 6122 ref. ‘MCERTS’. See Tony Hoyle at the Water, Wastewater and Environmental Monitoring (WWEM) 2010 exhibition Tony Hoyle will be presenting both a seminar (12.00-12.30pm, Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th November) and a workshop (2.30 to 3.00pm, Wednesday 10th, Room 5) on MCERTs at the Water, Wastewater and Environmental Monitoring (WWEM) 2010 exhibition on 10-11th November, The International Centre, Telford. The sessions will cover topics such as EPR /PPC permits, Operator Monitoring Assessment (OMA) and the self-monitoring of effluent flow. The workshop will
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cover regulatory flow monitoring requirements and verification, whilst giving a review of the progress made on these fronts in the UK’s industrial and water sectors. Bring in the experts A typical service contract schedule will involve: • Annual inspection of anything that might affect the metering system performance, such as calibration, degradation due to environmental influences or electronic drift. • Annual verification to confirm the meter stability. ABB can do this electronically in-situ. • In the case of electromagnetic flow meters, an internal inspection is typically needed only once every five years. • Some contractors will manage the entire MCERTS inspection process as part of a turnkey service contract. For example, ABB already has service contracts in place for clients in the water, wastewater, power, petrochemical, nuclear and paper industries.
Are You Ready For The CRC? Quantum Controls, ABBs UK alliance partner is ready with the solutions. ABB Drives Alliance member Quantum Controls (QC), formerly Slater Drive Sys tems, has received an award for the way its drive solutions con tribute to energy efficien and low carbon emissions cy . Managing Director of QC , Kevin Brown, was presen ted with the first EEF/On North East Low Carbon Inn e ovation Award at the Del ivering the Low Carbon Economy conference, org anised by the Engineerin g Employers’ Federation Presenting the award, EEF (EEF). CEO Gilbert Toppin, said : “The award recognises ability to grasp an opportu QC’s nity, take risks and strive to pave the way for their sector, and the industry as a whole, by creating pro fitable solutions to the glo challenge of climate cha bal nge.” QC has helped many com panies cut their energy use and hence carbon emissi by installing ABB variab ons le speed drives on numero us industrial application throughout the North Eas s t. QC are the only compan y in the UK who can offe hire the equipment to pro r to ve energy savings prior to the client making a pur This service has lead to chase. QC being appointed as an Official Carbon Trust Par The conference was held tner to allow manufacturers to explore the commercial opportunities presented by the move to a low car bon economy. Says Toppin “Innovation in low carbon : products and services is a significant step toward cementing a company’s s position in a low carbon economy.”
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THE ENVIRONMENTAL CREDENTIALS OF TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGIES By Ian Clarke, No-Dig Media (UKSTT) The family of Trenchless Technologies may only be known to some readers of this article as a family of techniques that has been around the underground construction sector for just the last 20 to 30 years. It may surprise many to know that some have been around for a lot longer than that with early designs for impact moles being tested as explosive delivery devices during WWI. Before the term trenchless was coined, microtunnelling had also been used in Japan for many years. By the mid to late 1980s however, developments such as CCTV inspection cameras, pipe lining technology and directional drilling were starting appear and to come into fairly regular use. ENVIRONMENTAL BONUS Whilst offering a family of techniques that meant reduced digging and therefore potentially significant cost advantage in the right circumstances, it very soon became apparent that there were also significant potential environmental advantages to the techniques. The problem has always been providing the proof of these environmental advantages. Many of the environmental advantages offered by techniques across the trenchless spectrum are simply difficult to quantify accurately. However, some significant research and analysis of the techniques has come up with some very useful data, which we’ll come on to in detail later. In what some may say is simplistic terminology, the potential environmental advantages of trenchless technology options are somewhat obvious from an empirical viewpoint. For example, when installing a new pipeline by, say, microtunnelling or directional drilling or impact moling or ramming, excavation is required to establish start and end shafts or pits to the necessary depth at either end of the pipe route and for the pipe volume installed. Whilst this may not sound ‘trenchless’, when compared to the excavation required to dig down to this depth over the entire pipe length such excavation for trenchless installation is minimal. Spoil disposal also then becomes a factor, with excavation over the full pipe length not only is the volume of ground required to accommodate the pipe dug out but also all of the covering ground above the pipe. This can lead to major and costly disposal issues. The opposite side of this coin also then comes into play. If trenchless systems are used there is a minimal need for back fill material, other than to reinstate the launch and reception pits and intermediate accesses if they have been used. As in many cases, these locations are used for manhole access or other operational points, which in turn further minimise reinstatement requirements. |56| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
With full trench excavation this is of course not the case as the trench has to be fully backfilled and the surface reinstated to the required and increasingly stringent standards. If one looks at the rehabilitation options offered by trenchless technology, even these minimal reinstatement volumes may be unnecessary if existing accesses, such as manholes, can be utilised. Another aspect of trenchless technology that this brings into play is timing. Most major trenched projects can take weeks if not months to complete. Trenchless techniques tend to offer very much shorter project schedules, in terms of days or weeks rather than months, and even then, if weeks, individual work sites within a project schedule tend to be very short-lived. This means that traffic diversions onto less major routes are minimised, which also decreases the impact in the areas through which diverted traffic flows run. ADVANTAGES IN PRACTICE So what does this really mean in terms of the environment? The answer to this question is several things, although some may at first seem to be somewhat indirect. For example, using trenchless systems, the most obvious advantage would be that shorter project life means less disruption to everyday life, particularly traffic flows, access to properties and businesses. Less traffic disrup ion means less slow moving, locally polluting vehicles than could be expected for a longer time-frame open excavation works, either at the work site or along any diversion route so any potential adverse impact on health will also be reduced. Beyond this, the reduced requirement for spoil removal at the start of a project, and the shipping in of clean backfill materials towards the end, means a very significant reduction in truck movements over the life of the project. Therefore less need of landfill disposal on the one hand and less requirement to quarry or
excavate new backfill on the other. This also leads to less reinstatement needs, which again reduces the call for the production of road surface materials and their transport. Yes, there is a definite argument that most of this is empirical and difficult to quantify, either in terms of environmental impact or financially. There are also those that would argue that much of this advantage is social rather than environmental. However, this makes the potential reduction in overall environmental impact no less true for that. CARBON FOOTPRINT In recent years there has been significant consensus that one way of showing the impact of any activity on the environment has been to look at its ‘Carbon Footprint’ or the amount of carbon emissions that any given activity generates during its lifetime. In terms of utility installation and repair activities, looking at the Carbon Footprint has been and continues to be done as a research project at the University of Waterloo in Canada. The research so far has come up with some very interesting results.
trenchless construction of buried municipal water, wastewater and storm water pipelines. Given that across most of the ‘developed’ world the installing, replacing or renovating pipelines is essentially the same process, it was assumed that the results of such a study should be more or less applicable to any such project in any country. The research started from the point that a major source of GHG (Green House Gas) emissions is generation of CO2 by the burning of fossil fuels. For a pipeline construction project fossil fuels will be consumed during: 1) pipeline installation, 2) site restoration; 3) vehicles delayed due to construction activities; 4) transportation of materials to and from the construction site; and 5) manufacturer construction materials. The basic methodology followed by the Waterloo study consisted of: 1) determination of construction induced greenhouse gas emissions, 2) determination of traffic induced greenhouse gas emissions and 3) addition of emissions in 1 and 2 to determine the total greenhouse gas emissions. Image below: Launch site of a pilot auger bore project.
With the difficulty in quantifying much of the claimed environmental advantage of trenchless technology, the research at Waterloo has concentrated on the area that is probably the most easily quantifiable, that of vehicle movements directly associated with a project. This focus means that, in terms of carbon emissions associated with any given project, results would probably be a conservative estimate of the overall carbon emissions saved using trenchless if any. So the ‘knock on effects’ discussed previously would still come into play further reducing the CO2 output. The research for this started in 2007 with the British Columbia Chapter of the North America Society of Trenchless Technologies commissioning the Centre for Advancement of Trenchless Technologies (CATT), at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, to complete a preliminary analysis of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from open-cut and ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |57|
CO2 EMISSIONS One of the primary determinants of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from mobile sources is the amount of carbon in the fuel. Carbon content varies but typically average carbon content values are used to estimate CO2 emissions. Research has shown that CO2 emissions from a litre (l) of gasoline and diesel can be approximated using: • CO2 (gasoline)= 2.3 kg/litre • CO2 (diesel) = 2.6 kg/litre (Used by most construction vehicles) The total fuel consumption of construction equipment can be estimated by determining the total number of hours for each piece of equipment and multiplying the total number of hours by a fuel consumption rate of 40 litres per hour. For traffic induced emissions, in urban areas significant traffic disruptions are often caused when construction works are undertaken, sometimes even where trenchless options are used, although they would tend
to be less than where open cut options are used. These road conditions often cause reduced speeds and traffic queues to build up. When the road is completely closed, traffic has to be diverted to alternate routes whereupon, in addition to the longer travel distances, the detour route has to accommodate higher traffic volumes with the associated speed reductions. Thus, in construction zones greenhouse gas emissions will increase, due to increased vehicle fuel consumption resulting from reduced traffic speeds, idling in queues, and/or detour travel. For the Waterloo project a simplified approach for calculating speed reductions and queuing delays was used (details of the research are available from Waterloo University). To facilitate calculations for various scenarios a spreadsheet model was developed. Using this model, CO2 emissions were determined for the installation of a new 250m long, 300mm diameter pipeline using opencut and trenchless construction methods. For the case studies it is assumed that open cut pipeline construction would require the excavation of a continuous trench along the entire pipeline length and that trenchless pipeline construction would require the excavation of only entrance and exits access pits. Thus, this analysis in this instance would only be considered applicable for pipe bursting, auger boring, pipe ramming and microtunnelling. Three case studies were made: • Case Study I – For this case study the existing sewer line was assumed to be constructed under one lane of a two-way highway. Thus, both open cut and trenchless construction would require the closing of one lane of the road using stop and start traffic signalling to control traffic in each lane. This means that a 250m long section of the highway will be closed. The job duration for open-cut method was estimated at 120 working hours and the trenchless construction job duration was estimated at 10 hours. Simulations were run for annual average daily traffic (AADT) values ranging from 3,500 to 10,000. Opencut and trenchless construction CO2 estimated emissions are shown in Figure 2 showing huge CO2 reductions using trenchless methods. • Case Study II – This case study was similar to Case Study I, except that the road shoulders were sufficiently wide so that traffic could
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be temporarily moved onto the road shoulder. Thus, there is no lane closure but traffic would be slowed. Results for this case study, shown in Figure 3, also show huge CO2 reductions when comparing methods. • Case Study III – This case study was different from the others in that the pipeline was installed across a road, as shown in Figure 4. For the trenchless installation it was assumed that sufficient space was available at both ends for excavating entry and exit pits so no traffic disruptions and no traffic delay CO2 emissions would occur. For the open cut installation it was assumed that a trench would be excavated along the entire length of the pipeline, with the main road closed to traffic with a diversion route being used. Figure 5 again shows calculated CO2 emissions for various AADT values of the closed road with the detour route are greatly reduced, with trenchless methods at between 91% to 98% reduction. Subsequently, the British Columbia Chapter of NASTT has developed a web based ‘carbon calculator’. The carbon calculator, endorsed by NASTT, is available at: http://www.nastt-bc.org/carboncalculator/nastt00.php In the UK, Government has placed significant emphasis on carbon management across industry, meaning that all the major utilities need to look at their operational carbon footprint to reduce it where possible. Water
companies are now required to present carbon footprint estimates for projects. In response to this new and required Carbon Accounting policy, WRC is currently involved in a project ‘Carbon Accounting for Pipeline Installation and Rehabilitation Techniques’, which it is carrying out for a number of companies. The project is looking at developing a carbon calculator covering some 17 construction techniques overall, including Open Cut, to work on a specific ‘by scheme’ basis, which will provide carbon accounting data that will be usable in tender documents. Progress on this now successful project is being presented at the forthcoming No-Dig Live event in Coventry between Oct 5 and 7 2010. So, whilst not yet perhaps being seen as ‘the’ determining factor in the choice of methodology for pipeline and buried service construction, replacement or renovation projects, the availability of potential carbon footprint estimates and the increasing requirement for presentation in future tender documentation could mean that carbon emission figures are likely to have a very significant impact on technology choice, potentially in the favour of trenchless systems, in the not too distant future.
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M E W 2 W 0 1 t i 0 s i V E hi With over 70 workshops, 120 exhibitors and a two day conference, WWEM is a specialist monitoring event for personnel involved with online, field testing and laboratory monitoring
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WWEM 2010 will be the most exciting ever By Marcus Pattison
The organisers of WWEM 2010 have announced that this year’s event will be even larger than its predecessors. Taking place over two days (10th and 11th November) at the Telford International Centre, there are a host of new features that will attract visitors from a broader section of the monitoring community. WWEM 2010 will retain its focus on environmental monitoring, providing the latest information on regulations, methods and technologies. However, the event’s growth is a result of new features such as a laboratory conference, new partners such as CoGDEM and over 120 exhibitors representing nearly 200 of the world’s leading providers of environmental monitoring equipment and services, many of which will launch completely new products at the event. Visitors to WWEM will include staff at every level within regulators, water companies, industrial manufacturers, consultants, education, research organisations, process engineering companies and any industrial company that utilises occupational monitoring, process or laboratory analysis. New Gas Detection Zone Traditionally focusing on water monitoring and testing, WWEM 2010 will now also highlight airborne industrial hazards and risk assessment across all industries, with the participation of the Council of Gas Detection and Environmental Monitoring (CoGDEM). Hazards covered will include accidental exposure to low oxygen levels in confined spaces and to toxic or explosive gases.
Meet the Buyer event UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) will provide access to 24 buyers from across Europe and run a workshop entitled ‘Developing Your International Business’. UKTI Commercial Officers will also advise on a range of topics including political/economic overview for countries including Portugal, Turkey and Russia, niche sector opportunities and advice on market entry. Partners The WWEM organisers have joined forces with a broad range of leading organisations to ensure the success of the 2010 event. British Water, The Institute of Water, Sensors for Water Interest Group (SWIG), PROFIBUS, the Water Monitoring Association (WMA) and the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) will all be closely involved. PROFIBUS is now being widely adopted within the water industry, particularly on larger installations, in order primarily to provide a local network communicating data from measuring instruments and actuated valves on the plant to the controlling PLC. The selection of PROFIBUS was driven by its greater (and still increasing) availability on equipment manufactured for water applications. Water companies are now developing ideas for more advanced uses of the facility provided, including remote access to plant and equipment for diagnostic purposes. The PROFIBUS Group provides the water industry with a point of access to technical expertise, training and to
Leigh Greenham, Director of CoGDEM, says: “We are delighted to be involved with the world’s largest environmental monitoring event. Gas detection is an important part of risk assessment to help provide protection for workers in all industries, particularly in the water sector. The seminars that we will run, in conjunction with informal discussions at the exhibition stands of our members, will provide WWEM visitors with the latest help and advice on modern gas detection technology as part of a risk reduction strategy. Many of our members are leaders in the field of gas detection and their technical staff will be available to provide training on how to operate, calibrate and maintain instruments cost-effectively.” ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |61|
those with knowledge of PROFIBUS product availability. Members of the PROFIBUS Group will participate in the WWEM exhibition. Process Monitoring Conference The Conference presentations will provide information on the latest regulations affecting process and effluent monitoring with authoritative speakers from the Environment Agency, ABB, SIRA, and UKAS. The Conference will be repeated on both days and chaired by British Water. The Environment Agency will outline a hardening policy on the use of MCERTS certified products. The Agency’s Paul Wiggins says, “There is now a good number of flow meters that have achieved MCERTS, so all new and replacement meters must now be certified”. He reports a high number of MCERTS product applications for both flow and analytical instruments and expects many of these to receive certificates at the WWEM event, adding: “We can now look forward to a time when the number of certified analytical instruments will enable us to enforce the MCERTS policy for all new and replacement water quality monitoring instruments”. Speakers from the Environment Agency will also provide an update on Better Regulation and the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) and include the latest position on operator self-monitoring (OSM) and the role of MCERTS and Operator Monitoring Assessment (OMA) in supporting the move to OSM for industry and the Water Utilities.
Lab Conference will address the key issues facing commercial laboratories in the new low-carbon, postrecession (or double dip!) era and will be most relevant to analytical staff within the water, food/beverage, manufacturing, processing and environmental sectors. UKAS will speak on accreditation, NPL will cover proficiency testing, CitySprint will discuss sample transportation, BOC will explain the production of accredited gas calibration standards, ALcontrol will outline best practise for sampling environmental waters and EXOVA will describe a recent development in data management. Admission to the Lab Conference will cost £55/day or £100 for both days. Registered attendees will also have access to the parallel Process Water Conference.
UKAS will provide an overview on how it interacts with regulators in the water industry and how regulatory requirements are interpreted with respect to ISO 17025 and UKAS accreditation. The presentation will include developments in the 21st century with an emphasis on sampling. Entry to the Conference will be £55/day or £100 for both days.
Workshops WWEM 2010 will include a programme of more than 70 workshops covering a host of issues relating to the practical monitoring and analysis of water, both in the field and in the laboratory. Topics covered will include: MCERTS; measurement error; water treatment optimisation; monitoring within the Distribution Network; LIMS; telemetry and even water quality monitoring with satellite imagery. A full spectrum of measurands will be covered, including COD, TOC, BOD, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, lead and other heavy metals, volatile fatty acids, chlorine dioxide and insoluble hydrocarbons. In addition, the workshops organised by CoGDEM will cover a range of issues relating to toxic or explosive gases. Some of these will cover specific issues within the water sector such, as confined space entry and combustible gases, and others will cover subjects such as sampling, detection, interpretation and calibration, that will be relevant for any industrial sector.
New Lab Conference This year’s event will include a dedicated Conference for the laboratory sector. Focusing on efficiency, sustainability, MCERTS and accreditation, the
Gala Dinner (Wednesday 10th November) The Gala Dinner has become a firm favourite in the diaries of the environmental monitoring community. During the dinner, MCERTS certificates will be presented
ABB will provide an instrumentation perspective to MCERTS and the Self Monitoring of Effluent Flow under EPR and OMA. It is now over 5 years since the first MCERTS Site Conformity Inspection Certificate was issued. Over this period, nearly 4,000 site inspections have been performed and a speaker from Sira will outline the latest advice for process operators and explain likely future developments.
|62| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
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by Malcolm Lythgo, Head of Monitoring and Analytical Services at the Environment Agency, following which the organisers have promised an evening of fun. In the past, this has been provided by some of the country’s most famous comedians and even an indoor funfair dodgem. This year the organisers are, once again, keeping their cards close to their chest and the entertainment will be revealed on the night. Exhibition – what’s new An international exhibition will run on both days of the event featuring the majority of the world’s leading providers of test and monitoring instrumentation and services. Entry to the exhibition and workshops will be free (saving a daily admission fee of £20) to all pre-registered visitors, who will also be entitled to free onsite parking, free lunches and refreshments on both days of the event. Many of the exhibitors have announced that they will be launching new products, technologies and services during WWEM 2010 and the following is a selection of the innovations that will be on show. The ABB stand will feature the company’s latest instrumentation in addition to an interactive display demonstrating how ABB’s technologies can be integrated to help monitor and control water supplies. Following successful trials with a final effluent monitor, engineers at Intellitect Water are also developing a new version of the company’s tiny multiparameter water quality monitor, the Intellisonde™, that will float on rivers, lakes and reservoirs, providing continuous water quality monitoring data. Aquamatic will launch a new Pressurised Pipeline Interface (PPI). Working alongside any of the Aquacell Wastewater Samplers, the PPI provides the perfect solution for sampling effluent from a pressurised source. The Directors of Aquaread have announced that they will ‘launch their most advanced product to date’ at WWEM 2010 and Partech will launch the new 7300 monitor, which provides multiple sensor capability, including organic pollution, colour, pH, Redox and Conductivity. GE Analytical Instruments will display the company’s newest Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Analyser, the Sievers InnovOx On-Line, designed specifically for wastewater applications and Envitech will also display a range of new instruments for a variety of applications. HACH LANGE will discuss the efficiency and cost savings that are possible with the company’s new ‘WTOS’ wastewater treatment optimisation system, which has dramatically reduced energy and chemical costs at plants that have already incorporated this technology. Information on the new Hach BioTector TOC Analysers will also be available and visitors involved in laboratory |64| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
or field testing will have the opportunity to handle the latest versions of the company’s comprehensive family of electrochemistry instruments and the new ORBISPHERE 3100 portable optical LDO analyser. OTT Hydrometry will reveal a totally new concept in water monitoring at WWEM, the details of which are being closely guarded until all is revealed in November. Cogent Environmental has chosen the WWEM 2010 event to launch a new advanced trace metals analyser that Managing Director Chris Welsh says, “will offer enormous advantages over laboratory analysis”. The new OVA7000 can be configured to provide continuous monitoring data for a wide range of analytes (Total As, Au, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Tl, U, Zn) in surface water, industrial wastewater and process water. Industrial Test Systems Inc will introduce a new photometric method for lead detection and Palintest will focus on the latest technology for testing chlorine dioxide. Water Active magazine will be handing out free copies of the Water Active Year Book. YSI Hydrodata will launch a number of new technologies including a novel instrument for CTD profiling, the
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‘Castaway CTD’. Designed for fast, accurate profiling, the Castaway CTD is simply thrown into the water and retrieved manually. The device automatically records conductivity, salinity, specific conductance, density, sound speed, temperature profile data, depth and GPS position, so that no field notes or computers are necessary. In the laboratory sector, software company CSols will launch a new ‘Remote Sampler’, a LIMS-driven handheld computer solution for efficient collection of all types of water samples. CryoService will demonstrate their new Teresvia account management software which enables realtime management of gas inventory, including rental management and downloadable Certificates of Analysis. A number of new products will also be on show in the new gas detection zone. Shawcity will show the PhoCheck Tiger next generation Photo Ionisation Detector for VOC monitoring, TVOC System+ Environmental Monitoring System for VOCs, the NXP Plug and Play Fixed Gas Detection System and the very latest GasClam unit for borehole gas monitoring, which can now also detect H2S, CO and VOCs.
Finnish gas detection company Detector, will celebrate its first exhibition in the UK with a 20% discount for orders placed as a result from enquiries made during the exhibition. GfG will showcase the next generation G460 portable multi-gas detector, which can incorporate up to 7 different gases simultaneously, including technologies such as PID for VOC detection and IR for hydrocarbon detection at %LEL and %VOL levels. |66| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Commenting on the vast array of new technologies that will be on show for the first time, WWEM organiser Marcus Pattison urges visitors to plan their time at WWEM carefully. He says, “Past experience has shown that it can be difficult to find time to do everything in one day. Most visitors find that there are a number of Conference presentations and workshops that are of interest, so it is important to leave plenty of time to visit the Exhibition. For this reason, we repeat the Conference presentations on both days so that delegates do not have to miss out on the many exciting new developments that will be on display at this year’s event.” Registration is now available at www.wwem.uk.com
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LAND MANAGEMENT Page 70 - 72 - Contaminated Land, Where Next? Alistair Kean - Chair, EIC Contaminated Land Working Group Page 74 - Reducing and Managing Risk from Contaminated Land - Frances Bennett, Ashton Bennett
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Contaminated land – where next?
|70| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Have you been wondering what’s happened to the contaminated land industry in the last few years? During the last fifteen years, the industry has grown up, become highly regulated and, most recently, has entered a new phase of economic decline. It’s still alive and kicking though and is well placed to pick up the challenge of land recycling when developers decide to start investing again. Experience has shown that the industry has never stood still. In the early years change came about through increasing technology and the market for skills grew rapidly. A land hungry development industry, keen to exploit the derelict sites created by industrial decline, began to recycle our derelict sites. At the same time, the Government and regulators reacted with new Acts and Guidance to make sure that the new industry didn’t make things worse. Consequently Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act appeared, along with Planning Guidance, Waste Management Regulations, Mobile Plant Licences and a huge range of contaminated land guidance notes. The industry is temporarily, we hope, a little quieter but change continues. What is hoped is that a fresh breeze, is blowing through the dusty pages of the much maligned Acts of Parliament and guidance documents that control how polluted land is legislated in the UK. At the last EIC Contaminated Land Group meeting, Tom Coles of DEFRA was good enough to come and explain where the Government may be heading with contaminated land legislation. The Act itself is likely to be unchanged. Continuing a process started by the last Government, the Coalition is aiming to simplify the old guidance documents, which aim to
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explain how, local Authorities should regulate contaminated land. DEFRA is currently drafting a revised document, which should reduce the 200 page document by over 140 pages. Several aspects of the old documents have been heavily criticised. Rather than creating another set of complex guidance documents, the new version is intended to instead set out the broad aims of the regime, rather than the detail. For example, DEFRA intend there to be better guidance on recognising the issue of uncertainty and will also spell out why normal background levels of contaminants should not lead to sites being determined under the Act. In addition, when councils review sites, they must state what the residual risks are, so that landowner, Local Authority lawyers and the public can understand the process better. There is no plan to introduce new lists of numbers for Tier 1 assessments but further guidance will be prepared to explain what the key concept of the Significant Possibility of Significant Harm means. This is considered to be a big issue in terms of public consultation. The present guidance does not consider this concept in any detail. It is intended to produce a traffic-light system for signifying the level of residual risk. Following assessment, there should be only four possible categories of sites. Green sites will be those which are obviously not contaminated and Red will be those that are clearly high risk and where other similar sites have been seen to actually cause harm. There are likely to be two levels of Amber representing those of low risk or unclear risk. For these sites, we can expect improved guidance on the process to be followed. For water pollution, Section 86 of the Water Act will be amended to explain what is meant by significant pollution, another missing item from the previous legislation. Again this should help Local Authorities and the environment agencies to make decisions on the need for remediation. In summary, the aim seems to be to simplify the process, while giving better and clearer guidance on how to assess whether remediation is required. DEFRA seem to hope that the revisions will help Local Authorities to use good judgement to decide when remediation is required. Conversely, it will for the first time give guidance on when the lack of benefits of remediation, such as disturbance to local citizens, cost and emissions, may outweigh the improvements in ground conditions that would be gained from remediation. Some kind of scoring system to allow decisions to be made in a transparent way may be included in the guidance. The issue of what constitutes background levels will obviously be important. There may be a role for the British Geological Survey as they have done some |72| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
geochemical work in this area. Some of the more forward thinking councils have also undertaken research into particular contaminants of concern. Opinion in the Working Group seemed to be that at present the guidance pushes the Local Authorities into a position where they are likely to take a very cautious approach and that this new guidance may well offer a more practical way forward. Sustainable remediation should be easier to achieve and the much criticised over-remediation of barely contaminated sites should occur less often. Big Society may be the catchphrase of the new Government, and it would seem that their aim is to use Acts of Parliament to set out the bones of legislation and allow industry to sort out the correct way forward, with only the simplest of guidance. As the issue was debated by EIC members at the meeting, it seemed as though the Big Society was at work. Time will tell whether it will work effectively and the input of industry to the consultation process will help to ensure that the guidance we get is the guidance we deserve.
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ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |73|
Reducing and Managing Risk from Contaminated Land By Frances Bennett BSc, FGS, CGeol, FIMMM, CEnv, MCIWEM, AIEMA, MIEnvSci Managing Director of Ashton Bennett Engineering Geologists and Environmental Scientists There are many experts who will identify environmental problems but what industry needs is solutions to these concerns. Not every environmental problem is a risk; if identified early it can be turned into a real opportunity. For instance, every planning permission now requires a Phase I investigation as a minimum and, if it is undertaken prior to purchase of the land, a price can be negotiated which will reflect the expenditure necessary to make the site fit for purpose. If a problem is identified early, a significantly cheaper remediation strategy can be implemented, for instance hydrocarbons can be treated on site thus avoiding high landfill costs and taxes. Similarly, given time, pollutants can be encapsulated on site, polluted ground can be remediated and, for example, paper mill waste can be mixed with green waste for composting. An expert geotechnical and environmental scientist can work with industry resolving problems and identify remediation strategies well in advance of the enforcement requirements of Government agencies. Environmental compliance is a necessity that need not be expensive with an expert geotechnical and environmental consultant working with industry to provide the solutions and clearly identify a strategy to demonstrate the responsible attitude of your company. Where once prospective purchasers of land or businesses shied away from potentially contaminated land, the view now is generally that, provided the right advice is sought and the risks assessed professionally, then the land can be remediated or mitigating measures adopted to ensure the site as suitable for use within a reasonably tight budget. The secret is to obtain expert advice regarding the possible condition of the land before purchase and if contamination is present, to encompass new and innovative methods for site remediation. Risk Assessment is undertaken by a Desk Study and comprises collection and interpretation of geological, hydrogeological, mining, environmental, landfill and archaeological data and interpretation of historical maps |74| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
and any other information relevant to the site. This data enables an interpretation of the possible contamination on a business or development site based on its former uses and enables a risk assessment to be compiled as to the likely nature, depth and extent of contamination, the likely sensitive receptors to that contamination and therefore the risk it may pose. Sensitive receptors include humans, watercourses, groundwater and the environment amongst others which may be more site specific. When the geotechnical and environmental consultant can demonstrate there is a low risk of contamination existing and a low risk of any contamination reaching sensitive receptors, then generally no further investigation will be required. If a potential for contamination has been determined then intrusive investigation and testing of soils may be necessary to enable design of mitigating measures or site remediation to allow the site to be suitable for its proposed use and fit for purpose. Such investigation should comprise an economically designed Phase 2 ground investigation incorporation trial pitting, drilling, soil sampling and testing and a further assessment to design any necessary remediation and/or mitigating measures. Simultaneously the Phase 2 ground investigation can determine the engineering properties of the strata to enable foundation design and to assess the stability of the ground with regard to the site being undermined by coal or affected by gypsum, landfill or other geological phenomenon. If necessary following a ground investigation a Remediation Statement can be designed for the remediation of the site. All land may be contaminated however contaminated land is still valuable provided that adequate environmental investigation is undertaken to prove its value. No company can be expected to employ people with the expertise to identify and manage all the risks associated with contaminated land, but with the assistance of a geotechnical engineer and environmental scientist any company can minimise their risks and maximise their opportunities.
Specialists in the remediation of contaminated land and groundwaters Bilfinger Berger Environmental, part of the worldwide Bilfinger Berger Group, has successfully completed specialist environmental works at over 120 projects across Europe, with the UK works ranging in value from two thousand GBP to over six million GBP. Project highlights in the uk include; • First successful use of Mobile Thermal Desorption Plant to remediate Gas Works impacted soils. • Biological treatment of over half a million tonnes of hazardous soils over the last 5 years. • Design, installation and operation of 20 - 2000 m3/day groundwater treatment plants. With a team of environmental specialists in the UK and across Europe, clients are able to call upon environmental professionals that have both practical and research experience in almost every aspect of contaminated land remediation. Southern England, Wales and Ireland: James Cartwright, Phone: 01932 577290 Fax: 01932 571917, Email: info@bilfinger.co.uk Northern England and Scotland: Jason Allen, Phone: 0161 932 1031 Fax: 0161 932 1100 Email: info@bilfinger.co.uk
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ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |75|
ORGANIC WASTE Page 78 - 82 - Anaerobic Digestion - Dr Kevin Monson, Principal Consultant, WYG Page 84 - 85 - The Biofuel Sticking Point - Ian Collins, Managing Director of REG Bio-Power
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ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |77|
Waste specialist calls for renewable energy subsidies to stimulate investment in Anaerobic Digestion Dr Kevin Monson, Principal Consultant, WYG The generous subsidies provided to some renewable energy sources currently do not extend to anaerobic digestion (AD) and it is vital that the Government use the new Renewable Heat Incentive to stimulate investment in AD, writes AD expert, Dr Kevin Monson, from international consultancy WYG. Recent research indicates that the UK and Republic of Ireland are currently lagging behind the rest of Europe in terms of developing renewable energy capacity (1). Although we need to expand and develop our capacity in all renewable sectors, AD should be further incentivised by the Government, given its many and varied benefits. AD is the biological breakdown of organic material into its simpler chemical constituents, ultimately methane and carbon dioxide. It can produce renewable energy in the form of electricity, heat or transport fuel, treat organic and agricultural wastes and produce a valuable soil-improving fertiliser. Given the benefits, why has AD been under-subsidised for so long in comparison to other renewable sectors? UK Renewable Energy Production among the lowest in Europe According to Renewables 2010: Global Status Report, as of 2008 only 2.2% of the UK’s total energy demand (including electricity, heat and transport) was generated
Anaerobic digestion plant |78| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
from renewable sources. The Republic of Ireland fared slightly better, with 3.8%. This figure is amongst the lowest in Europe (only Malta and Luxembourg are lower) and is a long way off the target of achieving 15% by 2020. In comparison, the leaders in renewable energy in Europe are the Swedish, who provide approximately 44% of their total energy from renewable sources. Their extraordinary progress is primarily due to the Swedish government’s commitment to try to make Sweden independent from oil by 2020. Other nations ahead of the UK and Ireland include Austria (28.%), Portugal (23.2%), France (11%), Germany (8.9%) and Spain (10.7%). Even nations such as Latvia (29.9%) and Romania (20.4%) are leaving the UK in their wake (1). Despite the nation’s poor performance, the UK and Irish Governments are not alone in their under-funding of renewables. A recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) (2) suggests that Governments’ worldwide invested over ten times more through subsidies into fossil fuels than renewables. The BNEF report concludes that in 2009 governments provided subsidies worth between $43bn (£27bn) and $46bn (£29bn) to renewable energy and biofuel industries. In contrast, estimates from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed that $557bn (£350bn) was spent
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by governments during 2008 to subsidise the fossil fuel industry (2). In the UK, Government spending on nuclear power also dwarfs spending on renewables. The NDA (Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) budget for 2008 to 2011 is reported to be £8.5bn (3). According to the UK Government National Archives, the total extent of the UK’s nuclear legacy liability is estimated at £48bn (4), although the ongoing cost of managing nuclear waste will be passed on to future generations and cannot be known. Compare this with spending on renewable energy. According to the UK Government National Archives, the Government’s recent spending review brought total funding for new and renewable energy to approximately £500m from 2002 to 2008 (5).
If the Government is serious about providing a clean, sustainable, secure and affordable future, more intelligent investment needs to be made in proven and reliable renewable energy sources such as AD. Government must look to the future, and make the socially responsible choices that will benefit the nation as a whole for generations to come. Renewable Energy Development: The Options Considering the renewable options, wind is particularly well suited to the UK and Ireland but turbines are considered by some to be visually obtrusive. Marine technology shows a lot of promise and must be further tested and developed. Solar (photovoltaic and water heating) technology is still evolving, which is why it attracts a relatively high Feed-In Tariff (29.3p/kWh for installations sized >100kW - 5MW). Solar energy can also be harnessed by location-specific energy crops (such as maize and grass) that can be converted by AD to biogas. Such energy crops, locally grown, digested and converted to electricity and heat, can diversify rural income streams and provide employment in rural areas. Plants have evolved over millions of years to harness the sun’s energy as efficiently as possible. The intelligent, wellplanned and local development of energy crops need not compete with food production or result in large-scale deforestation and mono-cultures (as in Malaysian/ Indonesian palm oil and Brazilian ethanol or timber). Intelligent cropping of locally grown woody biomass for biomass boilers is also a sound renewable energy option in many areas of the UK, although this should not be confused with imported biomass. Energy from Waste More promising than the potential anaerobic digestion of energy crops is the potential of recovering energy, organic material and nutrients from waste materials. The UK produces over 100 million tonnes of organic wastes each year, including 12-20 million tonnes of food |80| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
wastes and 90 million tonnes of agricultural wastes (6). These wastes are constantly produced and AD can convert them to renewable energy 24/7, all year round (unlike wind or solar). The conversion of these locally available wastes to de-centralised renewable electricity and heat should be a cornerstone of any sensible energy strategy. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) results show that AD of organic municipal wastes is the most environmentally sound of all renewable energies, including wind, photovoltaic and hydro (7). AD not only produces renewable energy but treats wastes and produces fertiliser product. Both treating wastes and producing natural fertiliser have significant positive environmental and carbon saving impacts in their own right. It also produces usable renewable heat, which can provide further financial and carbon savings. AD can treat almost any organic wastes (except woody material), which are produced throughout the UK. Organic wastes are generated from agriculture (animal slurries and waste crops), in food/beverage production and processing, food transport, distribution and retail, at home (kitchen and garden wastes) and sewage sludge. These organic wastes, if not treated properly, present pollution problems, including greenhouse gas emissions. AD can produce renewable electricity where the wastes arise and where the electricity will be used – minimising transport costs and electricity losses in transmission. As well as biogas, it converts organic wastes into a valuable soil-improving fertiliser. By meeting the voluntary PAS 110 standard, the quality of this soil-improver can be controlled and audited, providing confidence to farmers and land owners that the product will bring real benefits. It is the land-spreading of this soil-improver that ‘closes the loop’ and brings perhaps the biggest (yet least measurable) environmental benefit, by returning to the soil the nutrients and organic material that grew the crops in the first place. As the population increases, and the pressure on our agricultural land grows, the sustainable recycling of organic materials and nutrients will become ever more important. In addition, unlike wind turbines, which are usually located in prominent locations, AD plants can be unobtrusive, cleverly planned and landscaped into the surrounding area, or clustered with existing farmyard or industrial buildings. They can even be engineered with the vast majority of the plant underground. While investment is required to expand and develop renewable capacity in all sectors, funds should be intelligently directed at technologies that provide carbon savings and environmental benefits on a variety of fronts. The Feed-in Tariff (FIT) for wind energy is set at 18.8p/kWh (>100 - 500kW), for solar photovoltaic
technology at 29.3p/kWh (>100kW - 5MW). Why, when generous FITs have been set for these technologies, have the FITs for AD, which has so many additional benefits, been set so low? The FIT is set at only 11.5p/ kWh (for plants sized ≤500kW) and 9p/kWh (for plants sized 500kW to 5MW).
Why, if electricity is produced from solar energy harnessed by a man-made panel, should it attract three times as much Government subsidy per unit as solar energy harnessed through plants (energy crops and organic wastes)?
Renewable Energy for the Future Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) To date, the focus of the UK renewables industry has been the production of electricity. However societies also need sustainable solutions for the provision of heat and transport fuel. To provide stimulus for the provision of renewable heat, the Government plans to introduce the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in April 2011. The specific tariff paid for renewable heat that is beneficially used is yet to be finalised. Renewable heat from AD systems will be eligible and it is hoped that a generous RHI will go some way to addressing the disappointingly low FIT. Renewable Transport Solutions Replacing oil in transport, whilst maintaining the levels of mobility, flexibility and convenience to which we have
become accustomed, and to which the developing world aspires, will be an immense task. The UK Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) target was to have 5% of transport fuel from renewable sources by 2020. In 2009 the Government revised this target, to 3.3% by 2010 and 5% by 2013/14 (8). By 2010 the UK will need to further increase its renewable transport fuel capacity to 10% to meet the terms of the legally binding European Renewable Energy Directive (8). There are many renewable transport fuel options but biogas has emerged as the best environmental option in terms of carbon dioxide emission reduction (10) (11). Other advantages of biogas as a transport fuel (as compared with other renewable transport options) are that it can be produced in any location, is not dependant on foreign markets, or on large mono-crop production, and can be produced from a wide range of locally available wastes or energy crops. Biogas also has a higher yield (in terms of km/hectare) than any other bio-fuel (9). Biogas as a transport fuel is particularly attractive as it burns cleanly and produces almost no particulates, improving urban air quality. Buses and wastes collection vehicles are also quieter when run on gas than on diesel, providing additional benefits to society. Today, the use of biogas/natural gas as a transport fuel is proven and developed (particularly in Sweden), with further implementation more a question of marketing and industrialisation than a question of research and ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |81|
development (9). There are various dual-fuel vehicles on the market which seamlessly switch between biogas and petrol/diesel. AD in a nutshell Considering ADs many advantages, its contribution to renewable energy (electricity, heat and transport), wastes treatment (diversion of organics from landfill, and slurry management) and its benefits to soil, the historical lack of support for AD is surprising. The introduction of the FIT system is a positive step but it does not go far enough as it has been pitched too low. Considering the advantages of AD, more should be done to incentivise its uptake. The sustainable management of industrial, commercial, municipal and agricultural biowastes can and will benefit the nation as a whole, in many ways. Every kilowatt hour (kWh) of renewable electricity or heat produced, or every kilometre travelled on locally produced renewable fuel, represents not only enhanced soil quality, GHG emissions savings and a cleaner environment but money that remains in the UK economy (literally) at grass roots level. This is surely a more sustainable alternative than hemorrhaging cash to oil companies and fossil fuel exporting nations every time we buy goods, turn the lights on or fill up the car. In failing to offer AD the Feed-in Tariff that its wider benefits warrant, an excellent opportunity has already been missed. However, the upcoming Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) represents another chance to incentivise AD and reflect its environmental advantages over more traditional renewable technologies, such as wind and solar energy. By taking this new opportunity to further incentivise AD, the Government would be making a socially responsible, forward thinking decision that would leave a legacy for future generations.
References (1) Renewables 2010: Global Status Report. Ren21. Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century. http://www.ren21.net/globalstatusreport/g2010.asp (2) Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) http://bnef.com/free-publications/press-releases/ (3) Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Business Plan. www.nda.gov.uk/news/draft-bus-plan.cfm . (4) UK Government National Archives: Managing the Nuclear Legacy. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov. uk/+/http://www.dti.gov.uk/nuclearcleanup/tl.htm. (5) UK Government National Archives: Renewable Energy Business and Investment http://webarchive. nationalarchives.gov.uk/tna/+/http://www.dti.gov.uk/ renewables/renew_4.3.2.htm/. (6) Environment Agency. http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/library/ data/112192.aspx. (7) ESU-services (2000): Globale Umweltkriterien für Ökostrom, VUE, Zürich http://www.naturemade.org/common/texted_ zertifizierung/Stromlabel_7.2000.PDF (8) New Energy Focus http://www.nefocus.com/do/ecco/view_item?listid=1&lis tcatid=32&listitemid=2193. (9) Biogas as a Vehicle Fuel: A European Overview (2003). Stockholm. Trendsetter Report No 2003:3. (10) Biogas West: Fuelling the Future. (2006). www.brgbiogas.com/download/18.450110ae10c3994e ae68000922/BiogasV_FuelingTheFuture.pdf. (11) NSCA. (2006). Biogas as a Road Transport Fuel; An Assessment of the Potential Role of Biogas as a Renewable Transport Fuel. National Association for Clean Air. Greenwich, 11th July 2006. www.nsca.org.uk/ assets/biogas_as_transport_fuel_june_06.pdf. All images courtesy of WYG Group Ltd
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BiProduct Recovery provides waste recovery and recycling services designed to identify the beneficial properties of industrial byproducts and re-use them in agriculture, restoration of brown field sites and most importantly the generation of renewable energy. BiProduct Recovery focuses on the provision of regional invessel composting and anaerobic digestion facilities, waste to land recycling, investment, operation and mobile plant licensing. Recognising the increasing awareness of climate change, exacerbated by the burning of fossil fuels, BiProduct Recovery fulfils a growing need to recover energy from waste and to seek alternatives to landfill. Our aim is simple: to adopt cost effective, innovative and sustainable recycling operations which deliver real value for our clients.
BiProduct Recovery Limited Biwater House Gregge Street Heywood Lancashire OL10 2DX A Biwater Services Company T: +44 (0) 1706 626 214 F: +44 (0) 1706 626 294 info@biproductrecovery.co.uk www.biproductrecovery.co.uk
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Image: One litre of used cooking oil can generate enough electricity to make 240 cups of tea.
THE BIOFUEL STICKING POINT... Ian Collins is Managing Director of REG Bio-Power whose subsidiary, Living Fuels, has
pioneered a new technique to convert used cooking oil into combined heat and power (CHP). After substantial growth and investment, the UK biofuels industry now faces a challenge in providing a UK legislative framework to protect its future. Here, Collins tells Environment Industry Magazine how they plan to tackle the issue head on...
If you ask the man on the street to list sources of alternative energy, used cooking oil (UCO) rarely comes out on top. However, it’s a fact that we throw away enough UCO globally to provide power for over 100,000 homes each year. In terms of potential, used cooking oil is no moot point. Although electricity generated from renewable sources has more than doubled in the last five years*, figures show that we lag far behind the rest of Europe in terms of renewable energy take up - a fact that needs to change. The energy from waste sector is a suitable remedy to this problem with technologies such as anaerobic digestion, biomass and bioliquids leading the way in power generation. To take REG Bio-Power as an example, we have invested a large amount of capital in the past 12 months. The funding has allowed us to increase the capacity of our operation massively – we are now producing our proprietary biofuel, LF100, with UCO collected from over 260 Local Authority sites and numerous commercial partners. This proves that the UK has an appetite for companies using innovative methods to produce energy from waste – an encouraging sign. |84| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
We have, however, faced challenges over the past 12 months. A gap between Government legislation and strategy meant that for a time, our entirely green fuel faced restrictions. After working closely with Government officials and DEFRA, we now have a process in place that has solved the issue – a positive example of the public and private sector working together to strengthen industry. Our focus over the next 12 months is markedly similar. We’ve recently been working with Government officials to establish the most effective framework for all involved in meeting the UK’s energy targets. Currently, the focal point of our efforts is setting out the case for the bioliquids industry to be grandfathered by UK Government. There are still many challenges in the practical applications of Government legislation versus long-term energy intentions. This process has so far seen meetings with 26 senior officials from UK
Image: Left to right: Daniel Gillert, Steve Booth, Andrew Whalley, Rob Murphy, Dave Crockford and Ian Collins of REG Bio-Power at the port of Dover.
Government, European parliament, the Environment Agency and DECC to ensure the best outcome for the future of UK biofuels. Our supporters have raised two early day motions and 16 parliamentary questions, engaging over 70 parliamentarians. This is, however, just the beginning of the process. The environment needs to be right for companies who are investing in renewable energy innovations to do so in a commercially-viable and Government-supported way. At present, there is a risk that environmentallyfriendly and sustainable technologies are being placed at a marked disadvantage as companies are discouraged from pursuing such technologies. We need to act quickly to prevent the UK renewable energy sector falling further behind its European counterparts.
There has already been substantial investment in the biofuels sector with companies such as REG Bio Power investing circa ÂŁ6 million in the last three years and making commitments to customers, suppliers and recyclers. The biggest challenge now is ensuring we realise those commitments. * UK Low Carbon Transition Plan July 2009
Essentially, the responsibility lies with the private sector and companies like us developing new ways to harness latent sources of alternative power but we will only flourish in a fair environment and structure. Investment will come to a halt in this sector without consistent, long-term support from the Government. The Coalition Government must allow private industry to have confidence in this sector. Image below: A Combined Heat and Power Unit at Living Power’s Hockwold generation plant Image right: Inside the used cooking oil generator at the Port of Dover All images courtesy Kinetic Communications
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WASTE MANAGEMENT Page 88 - 91 - Which Way Next for Construction, Demolition and Excavation Waste? Katherine Adams, BRE Page 92 - 94 - Sustainability: An uphill Conundrum Howard Button, Chief Executive, NFDC Page 96 - 98 - Asbestos - Paul Beaumont Development Director UKATA
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Construction, demolition and excavation (C,D&E) waste has never seen so much attention as in the last few years. The requirements for Site Waste Management Plans in 2008, for projects costing over £300,000 in England, has pushed contractors and, to a certain extent, clients to look at how their waste can be managed better (if they were not already doing so). This has involved having a better understanding of the types and amounts of waste that are generated and working with waste management companies to obtain a better deal, including higher rates of diversion from landfill. The joint Industry and Government Strategy for Sustainable Construction has set a target for the reduction of C,D&E waste to landfill by half by 2012. based on a 2008 baseline. This means that in 2008 we sent 12.55 million tonnes of C,D&E waste to landfill (equivalent to 118 tonnes per £ million contractors output), meaning a reduction to 6.275 million tonnes (or 59 tonnes per £ million contractors output) . The Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP), in support of the target, has developed the construction commitment, with over 200 signatories across the supply chain committed to reducing their waste to landfill. There has been much activity in the area of ‘resource plans’, with ones for the flooring and joinery sector being developed providing actions to divert these wastes from landfill. Focus is also being paid to packaging, which can be up to 40% by volume of waste on certain construction sites, with the Construction Products Association setting a target to reduce packaging waste by 20% by 2012. There is also the push from standards such as BREEAM and the Code for Sustainable Homes, which require mandatory standards to be reached for construction waste management and more credits/points awarded for better performance, e.g. higher levels of diversion of waste from landfill. The demolition sector has been actively diverting waste from landfill for years and regularly achieves rates of 90%. The National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC) has developed an action plan , with the support of BRE, to ensure that the industry continues to achieve these high levels, which may start to decline in the future due to the types of building that are nearing the end of their life and the nature of the construction |88| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
How much are you paying to build this?
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Saving the environment, saving costs ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |89|
products used. Excavation waste remains a challenge, with soils accounting for 70% of landfill in 2008. This is largely due to the regulatory framework that exists in terms of the ability to reuse soils on sites, although recent guidance issued by CL:AIRE should make this less problematic. The waste management industry has invested in processes and equipment and some companies claim 100% diversion of waste from landfill, as energy from waste routes are utilised. So now most construction companies, especially the larger ones are actively diverting their waste from landfill and from a cost point of view this makes sense with Landfill Tax at £48/ tonne for ‘active’ waste and to increase to £80/tonne by 2014/15. A few issues remain; some waste materials remain difficult to recycle e.g. carpets, composite materials and the logistics involved in collecting waste materials can be uneconomical and it can still be cheaper to landfill certain waste; there is also regional variation. It can also be difficult for smaller contractors who are more reliant on the services offered by waste management companies. These are often local companies and may not always have the technology required to sort the waste material for recycling. So the way forward for C,D&E waste has to be waste minimisation i.e. reducing the amount of waste that is generated in the first place. Work has been undertaken in this area in terms of developing evidence and guidance but it requires commitment and time from companies to really look at waste reduction properly. However the benefits are much higher than diverting waste from landfill. Cost savings are higher as there are savings in the material purchase, avoided disposal and labour costs (it is often said that the ‘true cost of waste’ can be 10 times higher than the disposal costs) and there are also savings to be made in the embodied energy of the materials which aren’t being wasted. The freely available, True Cost of Waste Calculator shows typical cost and embodied energy savings that can be made from reducing wastage rates for key materials (available at: www.wastecalculator.co.uk). To focus on waste reduction requires knowledge not only on the type and amount of waste being generated but also the reason why. Once this can be established and indeed there maybe a number of reasons for just one type of waste then actions to minimise the waste can be put in place. For example, plasterboard waste could be generated from over-ordering, damage through storage/handling, and rework. Actions may require commitment from the supply chain and it is important to be able to measure the impact of any action (in terms of waste amount, cost, and environmental impact). Key areas include designing out waste in the first instance and understanding the consequences of |90| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
design decisions and the use of certain products in waste creation; the procurement of contracts and materials to incentivise waste reduction and on-site activities such as storage and handling of materials. Other issues also include better communication, forward planning and feedback amongst the project team. Waste reduction can also apply to excavation waste, with thought being given to how the project is designed within the current site conditions. For demolition, then once the decision has been taken to demolish a building then the opportunities for waste reduction are minimal. However thought can be given to extending the life time of buildings (and the products within them); the same also applies to refurbishment activities also. Larger companies are now starting to actively look at waste reduction but there is a long way to go! At BRE, we have been focusing on waste reduction for a number of years. This includes generating waste arising benchmarks for different types of construction projects to provide a baseline for waste reduction and distinguish between good and best practice; establishing the environmental and cost savings for waste reduction; assessing wastage rates for key products/materials and providing practical recommendations based on many construction project audits. We have also developed SMARTWaste Plan, an online tool to assist companies to write and implement SWMPs. This is now being further developed to help sites monitor their water and energy consumption, tracking the use of sustainable timber and monitoring the considerate contractor scores. For more details go to www.smartwaste.co.uk Katherine Adams, e: adamsk@bre.co.uk; T: 01923 664478
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Sustainability: An Upstream Conundrum By NFDC chief executive Howard Button
The demolition industry has a long tradition of reuse and recycling but regulatory goal posts are constantly changing, making sustainability a moving target. Demolition rises to that challenge, year after year but what about the role of upstream activities? Shouldn’t design and construction bear more of the burden? Trapped between a rock and a hard place, the demolition industry has every right to feel miffed. Ever vigilant for new opportunities to reuse and recycle end-of-life building arisings the industry, nonetheless, is left to shoulder a disproportionate burden of responsibility when it comes to sustainability. Why? On the one hand is the rock; the demands placed on the industry to reclaim, reuse and recycle. On the other is the hard place of mounting regulatory pressure to segregate, classify and categorise ‘waste’ streams as never before, only then to send more ‘hazardous’ materials to landfill. And caught between the two is the demolition contractor. Undisputed Leaders It is widely recognised that demolition contractors are the undisputed leaders in the recycling and reuse of materials, at the vanguard of the drive for sustainability. But, such leadership comes at a price. Architects and designers are undermining sustainability initiatives by an increasing use of non-recyclable, composite materials. It’s frustrating to see an increase in the quantities of material going to landfill. Greater quantities of arisings are being classified as hazardous waste. It represents a big financial burden on an industry that is doing its level best to improve efficiency. Many companies in these difficult times are absorbing much of the additional costs themselves, and not passing them on to clients. In an industry where proactive recycling is innate, NFDC members are becoming ever more adept at processing a diverse range of materials. But, he says, many more are untouchable in the ‘hazardous waste’ category, and this is reflected in the most recent NFDC Waste Returns. As a result, the recovery index has dropped significantly, which is an unfair reflection on the industry. Equally unfair, is that demolition industry waste return figures are lumped together with those of the construction sector. This has the effect of helping to bolster construction’s less-than-impressive statistics, while having a negative impact on demolition. Getting back to basics, it is interesting to note that the 1987 Brundtland Report, also known as Our Common Future, alerted the world to the urgency of making progress toward economic development that could |92| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
be sustained without depleting natural resources or harming the environment. The report highlighted three fundamental components to sustainable development: environmental protection, economic growth and social equity. All three metrics are ingrained in the demolition industry’s culture. Embracing Sustainability Demolition embraced the concept of sustainability with alacrity. So much so, that it makes it all the more worrying that the industry as a whole has its hands tied over pressures to reduce landfill disposal. The amount of material going to landfill is inconsistent with the Government’s – and the EU’s - wishes. We’re always working with the various agencies to find new ways of reducing waste, but in reality recycling is going down, and landfill is going up. A lot of NFDC members are disturbed that the figures relating to material going to landfill are also bloated, not only by construction and demolition waste, but now also by excavation arisings from civil engineering earthworks. It’s frustrating, but we must keep on trying to get our message across to designers and constructors that due consideration should be given to decommissioning and deconstruction when buildings are conceived. As an industry we’re still seeing buildings constructed using materials that are already defined as hazardous waste. This can’t be sustainable, and it’s not our fault. A recent Institute of Demolition Engineers presentation, authored by IDE president Terry Quarmby, entitled ‘Sustainability and Demolition – does it work in our favour’ pointed out that sustainability is what the industry is doing now to improve matters and not just what needs to be addressed in the future. The document spells out what many in the industry are thinking: “What is needed to ensure that sustainable ideals are implemented is a radical re-think on the primary use of materials in the new build to facilitate ease of reclamation and ultimately reuse,” says Quarmby. “There is [both] a comforting [and] disquieting assertion that sustainability [is] alive and well at the end of a building’s cycle of life. The question that begs answering is why only at the end and not at the inception of the process during the design stage?” Good question. Some 100 million tonnes of construction, demolition and excavation waste are produced in an average year in the
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UK. Around 50% is regularly recycled. The remainder is sent to landfill, including backfill at quarries and landfill engineering, as waste. The Government’s target for 2012 is 50% reduction in landfill, and 100% by 2020. Ambitious Target The NFDC has set a target of diverting 90% from landfill annually. It is an ambitious target, made all the more onerous by a raft of legislation from Brussels that shifts the goal posts as to what is, and what is not, hazardous waste. It is one reason that the NFDC requires members to provide annual returns on their waste arisings and management. This, combined with other data, for example pre-demolition audits, the Building Research Establishment’s SMARTWaste Plan, WRAP’s reporting portal and other SWMPs, can be used to monitor against the target and define areas for improvement. The outcomes of this exercise are reported, with performance indicators, highlighting best practice each spring. In addition, there are other initiatives, including WRAP’s halving waste to landfill commitment, whereby signatories set a target for reducing waste to landfill and embed this target into their company policies and procedures. Signatories – including the NFDC - are encouraged to measure and report on performance. Advice and guidance is available on the WRAP website (www.wrap.org.uk). Another key issue is that associated with greenhouse gases. The environmental impact of buildings and the waste they generate is gaining in importance, especially in relation to carbon savings. In the future, it is likely that environmental decision making will be as important as cost if, indeed, that has not happened already. Consequently, there is a requirement to promote knowledge and guidance on the environmental impact, including life cycle assessment, of managing demolition waste, including transportation impacts of the manifold demolition processes. The demolition industry is also aware of its unique role in the building life cycle. NFDC believes information gained through demolition should be fed back to product manufacturers and specifiers, with the ultimate aim of providing a meaningful contribution into standards such as BREEAM and the Green Guide for Specification. The overall environmental impact of demolition should be considered from the outset, and by that, the NFDC means design and construction. Reuse & Reclamation A key barrier to improving levels of reuse and recycling is clients’ specific requirements, particularly where they relate to a demanding demolition programme. Time is often cited as a barrier, as it can often mean contractors are unable to obtain most value from the materials arising from demolition if they have only a short time to undertake the works. There is some good advice from |94| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
WRAP, in this respect, which has developed guidance for the efficient use of materials in regeneration projects and which offers advice to the entire supply chain as to how to maximise reuse and reclamation opportunities. SWMPs also provide a good opportunity to engage all stakeholders at an early stage. The demolition industry has a high level of competence when it comes to the recoverability of materials for reuse. But complacency is not a virtue relished by most operators and ways are constantly being sought to find markets and uses for ‘modern’ products arising from end-of-life buildings. One major challenge for the industry currently is that composite products can be hard to recycle. There is a requirement to assess the potential recoverability of these products and systems and engage with product manufacturers and designers in order to encourage design for deconstruction. The NFDC has committed to focusing on certain materials that appear in the demolition waste stream depending on a number of issues, such as their cost, hazardous nature, ability to recover and industry actions across the supply chain. For example, much attention has been focused on plasterboard and gypsum waste with an agreement being signed to reduce and recover these materials from both manufacturers and contractors and the setting up of a Plasterboard Sustainability Partnership. Committed to embedding the environment in all its procedures and processes, NFDC believes it is essential to engage architects, designers and constructors at an early stage if it is to maximise its influence on the environmental impact of the built environment. In its latest (April 2010) waste plan, NFDC states that a better understanding and involvement by designers of building end-of-life issues can have a profound effect on sustainability in the built environment. As a bonus, a partnership and mutual understanding of each other’s roles in the supply chain can also have a positive impact on health and safety issues.
www.dds-demolition.co.uk We are a demolition, dismantling, site clearance and waste recycling contractor operating throughout England. Over three decades we have developed a strong and varied client base, with work streams in both public and private sectors. Our main strengths are working on city centre contracts, development of schools and hospitals, as well as demolition of super structures and low/high rise housing. We have the capabilities and the experience to coordinate any contract, regardless of size, budget or complexity. In addition to our demolition services, we also operate Kent’s largest and most advanced waste recycling centre. Our sister company; TW Services operating from our purpose built waste recycling facility in Richborough Kent, enables our complete waste management solutions for the demolition and construction industry. Our hands on approach to coordinating client requirements and our constant investment in our employees and equipment has enabled our reputation for completing projects to program, within budget and to the highest of environmental and safety standards.
DDS Demolition, 71 Monkton Street, Monkton, Kent, CT12 4JF. Tel: 01843 821555, E-mail: info@dds-demolition.co.uk
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ASBESTOS
By Paul Beaumont Development and Marketing Director UKATA |96| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
In today’s construction industry, regulations and legislation are noticeable everywhere, no more so than when asbestos is involved, but few understand that the asbestos regulations also come into force even when you don’t actually intend to work on asbestos, indeed, since 2002, it has been a legal requirement for any person whose work may expose them to asbestos to undertake Asbestos Awareness training as a minimum. It is fully understood that when working on asbestos, people need to have the correct level of training, insurance and equipment but what about the joiner who is working on a refurbishment contract, or the IT installer who is running new cables through an office block or school? Here the law is fairly clear; you have to have training, in fact, the Approved Code of Practice for asbestos works states “Asbestos Awareness training is required to be given to employees whose work could foreseeably expose them to asbestos”. But you only work on new build? Or you know there isn’t asbestos present in the building you are working on? Again, there is advice here; it is generally understood that the use of asbestos stopped in the UK following its total ban in November 1999 but can you, hand on heart state that you’re never sent into a pre-2000 building when things get a little quiet on the main contract, or that you may help out with a little first fix just to help a mate? It is situations like this where the training really does come into its own. Many people are exposed to asbestos for short periods of time, carrying out small tasks on an occasional basis. They basically never intended to call in on the job or they were doing someone a favour, or even just helping out. But it’s this short term, occasional exposure that could, in future years, present a problem. Asbestos Awareness training is a short, half day, training session; it covers key elements to ensure your safety at work; it covers crucial elements like where asbestos is found, what it looks like and how to identify it, how to avoid exposure, and more crucially, what to do if you are accidentally exposed. Although we have known about the risks associated with asbestos for a very long time, we don’t yet fully understand asbestos or its full effects on the human body. We don’t know how long or at what level of fibres someone needs to be exposed to in order to suffer some very serious consequences but one thing we do know, and know for sure is, that any exposure isn’t good. Therefore prevention to exposure from asbestos is better than the cure; it has to be, given that there is currently no cure for diseases relating to asbestos exposure. In the UK, it is estimated that over 4,000 people every year will die from previous exposure to asbestos; over a quarter of these are construction related trades: electricians, plumbers, joiners, etc. UKATA, the United Kingdom Asbestos Training Association has a growing list of members who are committed to reducing this number of fatalities. Our members follow a strict Code of Practice and Rules of Membership that is derived from the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and associated Code of Practice and Guidance to ensure that when training is delivered, it is correct. All of our members undergo annual auditing by our own vetted auditors along with material verification. For far too long, word of mouth, rumour and, on occasion, scaremongering has been the way of passing on asbestos information. UKATA take the responsibility of asbestos training very seriously; it isn’t just our
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Asbestos Awareness Course QSP Ltd QSP Ltd are a specialist training provider in the waste industry, offering various courses to a wide audience. Our Asbestos Awareness Course is targeted to individuals who are involved in handling Asbestos, our course outcomes are as follows: • How to respect and handle Asbestos • Identify the different types of Asbestos • To give a brief understanding of the history of Asbestos • Identify the uses of Asbestos • Identify what harm Asbestos can do to you as an individual • Identify how to avoid harm from Asbestos
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ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |97|
members’ livelihood, it’s the candidates’ lives. There are three main types of information, instruction and training as identified in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, ACoP. These are: (a) Asbestos awareness training. This is for those persons who are liable to disturb asbestos while carrying out their normal everyday work, or who may influence how work is carried out, such as: (i) General maintenance staff; (ii) Electricians; (iii) Plumbers; (iv) Gas fitters; (v) Painters and decorators; (vi) Joiners; (vii) Plasterers; (viii) Demolition workers; (ix) Construction workers; (x) Roofers; (xi) Heating and ventilation engineers; (xii) Telecommunications engineers; (xiii) Fire and burglar alarm installers; (xiv) Computer installers; (xv) Architects, building surveyors and other such professionals; (xvi) Shop fitters. (b) Training for non-licensable asbestos work. This is for those who undertake planned work with asbestos which is not licensable, such as a roofer or demolition worker removing a whole asbestos cement sheet in good condition or analytical staff and asbestos surveyors. (c) Training for licensable work with asbestos. This is for those working with asbestos which is licensable, such as removing asbestos insulation or insulating board. As you can see above, this covers just about everyone. UKATA also produce an electronic and limited print bi-monthly newsletter. This includes up-to-date asbestos information, articles from the asbestos and health and safety industries, along with current updates and events. For further information on asbestos training or to subscribe to our newsletter, contact UKATA: Tel: 01246 824437 Email. info@ukata.org.uk
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Green Building Page 102 - 103 - Retrofitting - Howard Crosskey, UK Green Building Council Page 104 - 106 - Cracking the Code - Angela Griffin, Tarmac Building Products Page 108 - 110 - Code for Sustainable Homes, James Sweet, Commercial Director, C4CI
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Retrofitting The UK’s Existing Building Stock Howard Crosskey, Public Affairs and Press Officer, UK Green Building Council The UK is on the cusp of a green revolution, by 2050 we have to meet an 80% reduction in our emissions, as set out under the Climate Change Act. The building industry has a huge role to play in meeting these legally binding targets and has already started to act.
through a nationally recognised scheme in order to maintain trust, credibility and, ultimately, to ensure a high standard of work in people’s homes is achieved. This will avoid the possibility of expensive corrections being required later.
In 2007 the UK Green Building Council was set up, an organisation made up of members from across the property and construction sector, with the goal of campaigning for a sustainable built environment. In 2010 the campaign goes from strength to strength, with over 300 corporate members, 9 successful and influential task groups and a new Sustainability Training and Education Programme (STEP) aimed at construction and property professionals.
The Green Deal UK-GBC has been promoting a new form of financing for low carbon refurbishment in the household sector for some time. Originally known as ‘Pay As You Save’ (PAYS), the concept is based on spreading the cost of refurbishment for a property over a substantial period of time, across different owners. In 2009 the UK-GBC launched a task group titled ‘Pay As You Save’ that found that low carbon refurbishment presents a potentially enormous business opportunity, with an estimated worth of around £3.5-£6.5bn a year and the creation of tens of thousands of new ‘green collar’ jobs at a time when jobs in the construction sector, and elsewhere, are increasingly under pressure.
Low carbon refurbishment is a huge issue that the UK is beginning to get to grips with. With some 43% of the UK’s emissions coming from existing buildings, it is clear that a significant and comprehensive programme is needed to upgrade the performance of our existing building stock to meet the target of an 80% reduction in UK emissions by 2050. The household sector represents 26% of total CO2 emissions in the UK, with most of the homes that will be standing in 2050 already built. High energy bills, rising fuel poverty and the need for energy security provide further justification to act. We must make low carbon home refurbishment easy, affordable and attractive and unlock a refurbishment market potentially worth billions of pounds a year to the UK economy. A national programme of low carbon home refurbishment could create over 250,000 new jobs, as well as providing affordable warmth and greater energy security for the UK. Spreading the cost of refurbishment works over time, through innovative financing measures, is central to making the proposition attractive for homeowners. Low carbon refurbishment could be delivered by a range of providers, from energy companies to local trades people to high street retailers. Whoever is involved in the delivery must be properly trained and accredited |102| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The Coalition Government has adopted an innovative Pay As You Save style financing mechanism for low carbon home refurbishment, known as the ‘Green Deal’. The Green Deal is a key element of the Energy Security and Green Economy Bill which, if passed in Parliament early next year, will lead to the roll out of the Green Deal to consumers in late 2012.
New jobs and skills Alongside the Green Deal there also needs to be a big push to train builders and tradesmen, to give them the skills needed to carry out green refurbishment projects at the same time as standard building work. This could be a huge area of jobs and growth - potentially a multi-million pound market per year creating tens of thousands of jobs; a point which Chris Huhne, the Secretary of State for Climate Change, raised in September, when questioned by a Commons Committee about the Green Deal, predicting the large increase in employment it could offer across the whole of the UK. The UK-GBC recently highlighted an example of housing refurbishment in Liverpool that points the way forward for the potential of the Coalition Government’s Green Deal. UK-GBC members Keepmoat achieved 74% reductions in carbon emissions from the Daneville Estate in Walton, Liverpool, slashing tenants’ fuel bills from an average of £836 a year to around £236 per year. Just as importantly in the current economic climate, the project brought much needed employment and new green building skills to an area where job prospects have been depressed in recent years. Non-domestic buildings The non-domestic sector is responsible for 17% of our total UK carbon emissions; reducing the energy used within commercial and public sector buildings is clearly an important part of the puzzle. Yet this area is currently ignored with no ministerial responsibility for the sector and no clear path for reducing energy use in these buildings. Although there have been recent signals from Whitehall that the Green Deal could be extended to the non-domestic building sector through the Energy Security and Green Economy Bill. As we stand, the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme is a start but we know it will not deliver enough carbon savings as it will only affect larger organisations. Display Energy Certificates (DECs) are crucial in promoting the actual energy use of public buildings, so that improvements over time can be measured. A recent ‘real-life’ example of this is the interactive Display Energy Certificate at Ask Development’s redevelopment of Number One, First Street in Manchester; the building now exceeds building regulations by 25% with low carbon technologies. As the temporary HQ for Manchester City Council, the building proudly displays its DEC Certificate in the lobby alongside live local public transport updates and a roof camera showing off the building’s green roof. This is a great way of engaging the public in the need for better energy performance in all buildings and an excellent example of green refurbishment. Local Authority’s leading the way Another great ‘real-life’ example of Local Authority leadership is Hampshire County Council, who refurbished their leaky 1960’s HQ Elizabeth Court II in Winchester and achieved more than 60% carbon
reductions, delivering a modern, highly sustainable building that their staff are proud to work in. With a Green Deal in place for non-domestic buildings, many more such buildings will be able to achieve similar results. The prospects for green retrofitting our existing building stock in the UK on the whole look fairly positive and have the potential to provide even more savings in carbon and produce many new jobs, especially if the Green Deal is extended to include non-domestic buildings. As redevelopments such as the Daneville Estate, Number One First Street and Elizabeth Court II in Winchester become the norm, we will all discover that the Green revolution has started and we are on our way to a sustainable built environment.
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CRACKING THE CODE By Angela Griffin from Tarmac Building Products
It’s the ‘holy grail’ of UK housebuilding: how to build affordable zero-carbon homes in volume. Tarmac Building Products has used a landmark test-bed site to assess whether it is possible to meet this challenge using traditional masonry materials and construction techniques. With just under six years to go before all new build homes in the UK are required to be zero-carbon, UK housebuilders face not only a challenge to develop house types that deliver greater energy efficiency, but also that are commercially viable to build. Housebuilders are now building to guidelines set out in the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes, an environmental impact assessment ranging from levels 1-6, with 6 representing the zero-carbon target for all new homes to meet by 2016. While the Government is due to make a decision on the final definition of zero-carbon this Autumn, building a new generation of energy efficient homes requires a fundamental step change in construction techniques on an unprecedented scale. The Tarmac Homes Project, an initiative between Tarmac and its build partners Lovell Partnerships and the University of Nottingham’s School of the Built Environment, set out to develop a low cost solution for three-bed, semi-detached, low and zero-carbon properties. Two semi-detached homes were built – one to Code Level 4 and the other to Code Level 6.
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The project, which took place at the University of Nottingham, was the first to test the commercial viability of two simple house types. Darren Waters, Tarmac Building Products, states: “This was a project with a real commercial purpose - to understand how to build a low cost zero-carbon home which offers the potential to be built in volume. A key aim was to provide an industry test-bed to help address critical questions which surround affordable and energy efficient housing.” Tarmac aimed to find practical answers to the following industry questions: • How can affordable Code Level 6, zero-carbon housing be built on a mass scale using products readily available in the existing supply chain? • What materials and systems should be specified to build a cost-effective but highly efficient building envelope? • What were the optimum and most cost-effective mix of renewables required for Code Level 4 and 6 homes? Waters continues: “The Code for Sustainable Homes does not come with a set of instructions on the box to help housebuilders choose the correct mix of materials and renewable technologies to build a zero-carbon home. It was therefore important to use this test-bed project to try and develop a commercial house type which can be built using traditional products and techniques that have been favoured by UK builders for decades.” Construction techniques There has been much to debateon how to build low and carbon homes. The construction of both the Tarmac properties used existing masonry products
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to deliver thermally efficient building envelopes. Tarmac developed two unique approaches to the wall constructions in both properties. The Code Level 4 Tarmac home uses 100mm of partial fill insulation in the brick and block cavity walls and combines a biomass boiler to provide space heating and a separate solar hot water system. The external walls of the Code Level 6 are constructed from a single leaf of Tarmac Aircrete blocks with external insulation and render finish. This design also uses a biomass boiler and a solar hot water system with additional photovoltaic panels on the roof that help it reach the Code Level 6 specification. Counting carbon The Tarmac Homes project has demonstrated that these traditional materials, when combined with onsite renewables, can meet the highest levels of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Tarmac’s Code Level 6 home has achieved a 156% CO2 reduction compared to a similar three-bedroom semi-detached home built to comply with 2006 Building Regulation levels. This equates to savings of more than 5.5 tonnes of CO2 per house per annum. A similar property built to 2006 Building Regulations has a CO2 emissions target of 22.05 kg/sqm per annum. This would equate to around 5.5 tonnes of CO2 per house per annum. Significantly, the Tarmac Code Level 6 home has a predicted carbon emissions of -12.54 kg/sqm. The University of Nottingham’s School of the Built Environment is set to monitor the performance of both homes when they are occupied by postgraduates later this year. By using monitoring techniques in the post- build phase, the Nottingham team will be investigating the fuel and electricity usage, thermal performance and efficiency of appliances and renewables.
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Capital costs To date, many UK housebuilders have cited the additional build costs required to reach Code Level 6 or zero carbon as commercially unrealistic. The completion of Tarmac’s Code Level 6 and Code Level 4 homes provides private housebuilders and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) with an easy to build template and one of the lowest build costs for both low and zero-carbon homes to date. With a major shortage of housing in the UK and a Government requirement for 240,000 new homes to be delivered by 2020, this development of two house types for Code Level 4 and Code Level 6 meets an industry need. The Tarmac Homes Project was the first initiative to publish the costs of building Code Level 4 and 6 homes. The calculated cost, additional to the build cost for a typical three bedroom semi-detached built to comply with the 2006 Building Regulations, was around £6,400 for the Code Level 4 house and £37,700 for the Code Level 6 house. This provides valuable information on the true cost of construction and renewable technologies. Waters continues: “The results of the project also provide the industry with an accurate financial indication of building low and zero-carbon homes. While it is good news for housebuilders in the medium-term that the costs for Code Level 4 are lower than previously expected, the higher costs of the Code Level 6 suggest that previous industry forecasts should be revised upwards,” said Waters. All Images: Camargue Group Limited
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The Code for Sustainable Homes: the positives and the pitfalls for the SME builder By James Sweet, Commercial Director at C4CI Background Many would disagree with this but the Code for Sustainable Homes is probably one of the best initiatives designed to improve the quality of UK homes since the Egan report of the late 1990s. Like the Egan report, the Code aims to begin the legacy of low-carbon, healthy housing that requires little or no retrofit. The Code, by default, will also improve the business practices of the many builders who will have to deliver it. That’s the good news; unfortunately, that is where the good news ends. Short Term Impact Like many well-meaning sustainable initiatives, the Code’s principle is good and the methodology is logical, but the execution and roll-out into the mass private home-builder market will create incredible, unforeseen problems for the small and medium scale private builder, who make up around 50% of the UK residential building sector during a normal economy. This in turn will bounce back on local planning departments in the form of confusion, increased administration, exasperated phone calls and possibly even litigation. Given the lack of awareness training about the Code and its delivery process, it is likely that only a very few of the Planning Departments will know enough about the Code to properly manage such unnecessary problems. In Practice The Code is a highly prescriptive build methodology and build management process with very few grey zones: you have either done what was requested and have the documentation to prove that it occurred at the specified time or you haven’t - simple. Retrospective adjustments or fixes are near impossible and will be discouraged. The Code is complex to those new to it but, as the developers who have been providing services to the Registered Providers (formerly Registered Social Landlords) know, like any process it becomes commonplace and part of daily routine once mastered. The enforced internal management process that comes by default will improve the business practices of those that are being requested to comply with the Code.
Two key changes to SME builders practice Compliance with the Code has two major implications upon the builder and their architect: 1. Increased pre-build preparation: the builder and their architect partner will need to plan the project and structure the business to manage the audit trail and engage with sustainable consultants long before breaking ground. This will have a direct cost implication on the project and will require the institution of new management practices in the business. 2. New building techniques: build methodology may need to be reconsidered because the fabric performance of the structure is key to scoring a considerable number of energy performance points. Without a “fabric first” approach, unnecessary and costly renewable technologies to make up the lost points could be purchased but add-on technology is the most expensive and least cost-effective approach to sustainable house building. Part L Regulations Builders and architects will need to learn new processes, engage with new businesses and technologies, work with more consultants and further their understanding of the physical performance of the structure. The tightening of the new Part L Regulation, expected to come into effect in October 2010, will allow no room for approximate performance of structure under SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure). It will be mandatory to have documentation to prove structural performance. Using previous practice and merely sticking a bit more insulation in the loft and a PV panel on the roof will not cut the mustard; the Code represents a transition in the UK approach to sustainable building from good effort to real effect. Pitfalls and challenges There are essentially two issues that will thwart an efficient delivery of this national strategy: • While some of the UK’s larger developers and builders can afford to roll-out their own, in-house educational programmes, little is being done to educate the small and medium companies on the full process implications of delivering residential buildings to Code standard. There is an almost tangible lack of awareness that the process and audit trail for proof of compliance commences a long time before ground can be broken. • The planners who may set the Code as a condition of planning in the local boroughs are not aware of the business implications to the small builder. They could be aware only of the nine performance criteria and will assume that these will be complied with as a matter of course and documented accordingly. It won’t. The outcome of this will be that the small-to-medium builder will find that their paper trail is incomplete and ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |108|
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that the Code assessor will therefore be unable to sign off the project. If documentation is missing, the assessor will assume that a critical aspect of the planning permission has not been fulfilled and that the “finished” project is non-Code compliant with the planning consent demanded. So then what? All hell breaks loose as the builder starts to lose money and watches their proposed return on investment start to diminish. Moving Forward Builders and architects must make sure that they are fully aware of just what is involved with the Code for Sustainable Homes before they embark on a new project. The huge costs associated with failing Code assessment are simply unfeasible for any small business, particularly during the current economic situation. Builders and architects could look to house building solutions that are guaranteed to produce fabric that is Code compliant and then focus on the other aspects which will deliver full compliance beyond structure. A good example is the Super E® system, one that is endorsed by the Canadian Government. Super E®’s mantra of build right – ventilate tight, has never been more apt. The methodology of being as energy efficient and code compliant as possible from the design stage, as opposed to applying bolt on technologies post build, is the very logic being encouraged by the Code for Sustainable Homes. What’s more, the cost-effectiveness offered by tight schedules and extremely quick build times could be a determining factor on a small operator’s net profit on their projects as the market picks up. Companies such as C4Ci are offering training packages from September 2010. Working with Gateway to SusCon (a project which is co-financed by SEEDA and the European Social Fund) in Kent, a programme of free education seminars, targeting the small-to-medium scale builder and their partner |110| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
architects, will be rolled out. The aim is to educate those who need to know about the setup of the front end process and provide guidance on how to meet the Code. SusCon in Kent has recognised the negative implications of the lack of knowledge on this subject, especially when there is still no joined up thinking within the local boroughs on which level of the Code should be applied: a random application of level 3 (25% improvement) or level 4 (44% improvement) is currently being demanded for planning consent across the county and, in fact, nationally. The cost implication to the builder is huge even between these categories. So, much food for thought and urgent action needed across the country to be prepared for the change in regulations coming into effect very shortly. Are you ready? Image below: Super E House as a System
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Some people didn’t believe we could build an affordable, repeatable Code 6 sustainable home. Now you can believe. When you are first with a truly groundbreaking idea, you can expect a few doubters. Just as the Wright brothers were dismissed as dreamers before their momentous flight in 1903, few people believed that we could build an affordable, repeatable Code 6 sustainable home using normal masonry products, usual best practices, existing supply chains and proven green technology. We knew we could - and we have. Our semi-detached homes built in conjunction with Lovell Partnerships are Code 6 and Code 4 sustainable homes that are genuinely affordable and repeatable. To arrange your guided tour, please visit our website.
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TIMBER Page 114 - 116 -
Illegal Timber Exports, Malaysian Timber Council
Page 117 - 118 -
End to Illegal Timber Trade, Alex Offei –Manager, Ghana Forestry Commission
Page 120 - 122 -
Playing by the Book, Alasdair McGregor, BM TRADA
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The Ghana Forestry Commission consists of three operational elements:
Forest Services Division Wildlife Division Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) The Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) works in support of the logging and wood processing sector. It encourages a skilled and progressive industry based on the sustainable use of forests and providing a source of secure employment, income, career and skills development. TIDD is committed to ensuring that Ghana will maintain and increase its wood resource through the sustainable management of its Forest Reserves, the establishment of industrial wood plantations, the evolution of a sophisticated bamboo industry, and the committment of local communities to the protection and responsible use of their forested lands. London Office Timber Industry Development Division, Unit 4, Granard Business Centre, Bunns Lane, Mill Hill, London, NW7 2DZ, UK Tel: +44 (0) 208 9069560 Fax: +44 (0) 208 9069570 Email: tiddlondon@ghanatimber.co.uk
Head Office No. 4 Third Avenue, Ridge, Accra, P.O. Box MB 434, Accra, Ghana Tel: +233 (0) 21 221315/ 675736 Fax:+233 (0) 21 220818 Email: info@hq.fcghana.com
Takoradi Office Timber Industry Development Division P. O. Box 738, Takoradi, Ghana Tel: +233 (0) 31 229216/24585/24100 Fax: +233 (0) 31 22837/23339 Email: info@tidd.fcghana.com
Malaysian Timber Council |114| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The introduction of the EU Due Diligence Regulation (DDR) for Timber, approved mid this year, is aimed at reducing the risk of illegal timber entering the EU. The timber and forestry sectors across Europe has worked closely with governments and ENGOs in the last decade to help combat illegal logging worldwide and promote production and trade in legal, if not sustainable, timber. The whole purpose of formulating additional legislation to control the movement of timber into the EU was primarily due to alleged illegal logging taking place in several regions around the world, including within the EU. Following 5 years of deliberations between all stakeholders, the proposal was approved by the European Parliament in July this year and this proposal is expected to be implemented in early 2013. The strongest driver perpetrating this piece of legislation is to support the EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) to address the problem of illegal logging and trade in illegally sourced timber. These bilateral partnership agreements with timber producing countries establish control and licensing procedures that ensure only legally produced timber products from partner countries enter the EU. 3 African nations have so far signed FLEGT VPAs with the EU and expect to be operational by the end of 2010. Negotiations are ongoing with a number of potential partner countries, Malaysia being one of them. The correlation between the FLEGT VPA and the DDR is that the former will have implemented an approved licensing scheme and thus will be considered to have met the legality requirements satisfying the requirements of the DDR. The developments on the FLEGT VPA and the DDR coincide with similar developments in the US, namely the Lacey Act, notwithstanding differences between the 2 pieces of legislation. The Lacey Act criminalises trade in illegally harvested timber. These approaches are also being considered elsewhere such as Australia and Switzerland. The developments described above were predominantly targeted at tropical timber producing countries where the presumption of illegal logging ran reasonably high, until attention was drawn to other inter-EU and EU-periphery countries where levels of illegal logging were also quite high and were going unchecked due to the focus in tropical regions. What all failed to consider at the beginning was the fact that there were several drivers for illegal logging, some of which lay beyond the shores of the country concerned. Countries with high processing capacity but limited natural wood resources continue to import significant volumes of timber from all over the world, only to re-export these products to the developed world. As much as this issue has been looked into, there are still big players who remain outside the FLEGT VPA circle, and the only hope of addressing the problem of illegal timber entering the EU via third countries lies in the DDR, but only if effectively implemented across the EU-27. Several questions remain unanswered in the proposed DDR, where effective implementation is crucial. Key issues remain unresolved in relation to the definition of ‘first placer’ of timber products on the market, the assessment of levels of due diligence to be exercised, the extent of risk assessments to be undertaken and what would constitute acceptable levels of due diligence,
the complexity of tracking timber flows worldwide (taking transhipment, imports and re-exports etc into account, accurately identifying the country and region of harvest, having access to documentation to prove legal compliance, and the list goes on. Several would think that independent third party audited timber certification schemes would have the upper hand at meeting the requirements of the DDR. Unfortunately, this is not so. They will be seen as a risk reducing or risk mitigating factor but will not qualify for an exemption under the DDR purely due to the fact that such certification schemes were not negotiated, accepted or endorsed via an inter-governmental process. So what’s in it for tropical timber producing countries and how do we see such ‘controls’ being imposed upon us? There are several ways of looking at this issue. Malaysia fully supports the proposed DDR for the very simple reason that it will level the playing field between producers of legal and/or sustainable products. Malaysia is in a position to do both owing to the varying categorisation of our forest areas against producers of timber from dubious sources, which often result in market demand and corresponding price patterns being distorted owing to the latter being cheaper. A direct consequence of this is the undermining of responsible forest management in countries like Malaysia whilst reducing potential revenue that could be channelled towards the implementation of sustainable forest management (SFM). Such illegal activities further cause serious socio-economic problems, such as encouraging corruption and tax evasion. Malaysia has a strong history of forest management. With almost 57% of the country under natural forest cover and a further 16% under plantation tree cover, Malaysia is proud of her +70% tree cover. For Malaysia, the EU is a high value market for select timber species and products, accounting for nearly 14% of our total annual production. The Malaysian Timber Certification System (MTCS) is operated by the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC). Over 30% of the country’s forests are currently certified as legal and sustainable under the MTCS. The MTCS is already recognised as proof of sustainability and/or legality by several governments worldwide (www. mtcc.com.my). The scheme was endorsed by PEFC International in May 2009, becoming the first tropical scheme in the Asia Pacific to be PEFC-endorsed. Over 10% of the country’s forests are PEFC-certified and this will grow by the end of 2010. PEFC-certified Malaysian timber is already slowly entering Europe with volumes expected to increase as we move through 2010. MTC and the Malaysian Government explicitly support EU efforts to minimise deforestation, caused by illegal logging and associated trade in illegally sourced products. However, Malaysia is also ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |115|
mindful that any measure taken is not detrimental to national conservation efforts and the international trade in timber. The system employed needs to be implementable, workable in practice and utilise existing systems to minimise costs and maximise limited resources. Timber holds the strongest sustainability credentials compared to any other construction material and should be valued as such. MTC has always stood in solidarity in promoting the use of wood for a varied number of applications (www.mtc.com.my).
Malaysian Timber Council, 24 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP Tel: 020 7222 8188 Fax: 020 7222 8884 E-mail: council@mtc.co.uk
The current economic situation worldwide has made business extremely difficult for the wood sector. Creativity and innovation have never been stronger than in the last 2 years as the wood sector faces market challenges resulting from the global financial crisis. All measures aimed at checking the credibility of wood resources are definitely welcomed, only the measures need to be carefully thought out and in proportion to the objectives to be achieved. Caution needs to be exercised in order to avoid putting wood at a disadvantage compared to all other materials which, thus far, are not subjected to the stringent controls imposed on the wood sector. An imbalance in the approach on controls will only serve to jeopardise the already strong credentials of wood if it results in discouraging the use of wood due to policy technicalities. The other worry is that under the DDR, EU member states are at liberty to set their own sanctions on prohibitions, which may drag producer countries back to the starting block of facing varying requirements in EU member states, a serious matter that tropical producing countries in particular, consisting of developing countries, have been struggling with for a decade at least. It was hoped that the DDR would introduce the long overdue ‘harmonised’ approach on purchasing policies of the EU and companies within. It is left to be seen if the DDR will deliver the benefits to the EU, in terms of consuming only legal timber products and to allow tropical timber producing countries the market access that they so need, in order to effectively implement sustainable forest management and to guarantee the future viability of tropical forest resources, leading to the efficient use of a valuable raw material. Countries that have made significant progress in SFM and invested in their forest and timber industries need to be encouraged and stimulated. An artificially devalued tropical forest will only force national governments to seek alternative, more economically attractive yields from the land it occupies; a threat that we live with every day and struggle to compete against.
MTC represents the interests of the Malaysian Timber Industry in international markets and is able to assist specifiers, end users and importers to obtain technical information and to source Malaysian hardwoods and timber products.
MALAYSIA: NATURAL BEAUTY, DURABILITY, RELIABILITY. MTCS-certified and PEFC –endorsed suppliers available |116| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
END TO ILLEGAL TIMBER TRADE – GHANA ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY By Alex Offei –Manager, Ghana Forestry Commission, London Office
and wildlife resources in the country. The current programmes and projects include the following: Forest and Wildlife Sector Programmes – 2010 Natural Resources and Environmental Governance Programme (NREG) NREG is designed to provide annual Sector Budget
Illegal logging and trade in illegally sourced wood products remain a major problem. Even though statistics show a fall by 50-70% in major producing countries of the Brazilian Amazon, West Africa and South East Asia, it continues to wreek havoc on national economies, have a devastating impact on the livelihoods of forest –dependent people and support corruption and its associated conflicts. Governments of the various producer nations have made efforts and continue to work with NGO’s and other donor partners to bring this down. There is however strong evidence and indicators that the illegal activities have significantly declined, especially in the countries mentioned in recent years and particularly Ghana. The Government of Ghana has worked tirelessly to reduce illegality in the trade for both export and domestic markets. Having entered into a Voluntary Partnership Agreement(VPA) with the European Union, Ghana is standing out of the crowd to improve its forest governance regime and introduce transparency and also provide conditions that encourage investments in forest restoration and thus improve the resource base. A major component of the agreement is the wood tracking system which incorporates traceability that will monitor timber starting from the forest through the entire production chain. The development of the propoor strategies and alternative incomes and livelihoods to communities with potential to resort to illegalities is worth mentioning. Ghana has also improved it’s technical basis for regulation, to upgrade and limit fraud and inefficiencies of paper based systems and establish a domestic trade, without which will nullify any gains made on the export market. The Forestry Commission is executing various Forestry Sector Programmes and Projects to enable the Commission to achieve its mandate of protection, development, management and regulation of forest
Support and to sustain the implementation of broad programme of Natural Resources Governance and Environmental reforms and innovation for the government. The programme has been developed and fully owned by relevant government agencies:- MLNR, MEST, FC, MC and EPA. The programme focuses on a set of policies and reforms in the inter-related sectors of forestry and wildlife, mining and environmental protection. It is a five-year programme which began in September, 2008. Community Forest Management Project (CFMP) The project is being funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and is designed to rehabilitate degraded forest reserves while increasing production of agricultural, wood and non-wood forest products and strengthening the capacity of relevant institutions. Government Plantation Development Programme (HIPC) The project is funded solely by the Government of Ghana through HIPC funds. It aims to rehabilitate degraded forest reserves in suitable off-reserve areas, mangroves, ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |117|
watersheds, planting of amenity trees in urban areas and creating employment for the youth in the rural and urban communities. Forest Resources Management Project (FORUM) This project is being funded by GTZ and KfW of Germany with an original budget of DM25.0 million. The project aims to reduce the degradation of forest resources in the Volta Region through the protection of the remaining natural forest, rehabilitation of degraded forest reserves and the promotion of private wood establishment. Bamboo and Rattan Development Project (BARADEP) This project aims to promote the utilisation of bamboo and rattan resources as alternatives to timber wood and to create employment for the people of Ghana, thereby reducing poverty. The Government of China has promised to release a grant of $4.0million for the execution of the project, however, the necessary negotiations have not been completed. Non-Legally Binding Instrument on all Types of Forests in Ghana (NLBI) The objective of this pilot project is to support Ghana in implementing the non-legally bindng instrument on all types of forests. The experiences generated will be very useful for other countries that embark on implementation of the NLBI and for ossible future support to countries through the extension of the project. The Forest Preservation Programme The grant is intended to support measures towards forest conservation in Ghana by providing equipment, materials and services while using Japanese products and technology, if possible, to achieve Green Ghana. The Government of Japan through JICA, has provided a grant of US$7.8million. The grant is being processed and will
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be available during the year. Forest Investment Programme The Expert Group has recommended the selection of Ghana (FC) as a pilot under the Forest Investment Programme (FIP). If selected, the FC will receive a carbon grant of about $70.0 million to pilot its carbon programmes under climate change. INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN GHANA’S FORESTRY SECTOR Having built a solid foundation to remove illegalities in trade, investment opportunities are now open to interested investors to enjoy an industry full of legalities.
The areas of high interest are: 1. ECOTOURISM The Government lands earmarked within the busiest ecotourism locations are open to be used to build tourist lodges and motels to improve the ecotourism industry in Ghana. 2. COMMERCIAL TREE PLANTATIONS The Government is encouraging the establishment of commercial tree plantations on Government lands allocated within selected forest reserves in the country. The issue of carbon credits, CDM and REDD projects open up opportunities for the establishment of such plantations and also to produce commercial timber. 3. EXPORT OF VERIFIED TIMBER The opportunities are available to register and become an export trader in ‘verified legal’ wood products without owning a sawmill. A big vote of confidence, for the Ghana forestry sector.
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Playing By The Book Alasdair McGregor of BM TRADA Certification discusses the significance of forest certification in the light of recent EU legislation to ban illegal imports.
Wood has been used by man for generations
Wood has been used by man for an enormous variety of purposes since prehistoric times. It can be used in conjunction with many other materials and can be found in every aspect of a building. Its inherent properties ensure good thermal and acoustic performance and, if correctly specified and designed, wood and engineered wood products provide strength where needed, as well as offering inspiration for design. As the world’s only truly renewable construction material, it has a unique place in the built environment of the future. The forests which produce timber and wood fibre therefore need careful management, if they are to continue to meet the increasing demands placed upon them, not only by consumers but also by the communities which depend upon them for their livelihood. On a global level, deforestation as a whole is estimated to contribute 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. Where it occurs, soil degradation, loss of biodiversity and landslides are all potential problems. The plunder of this natural resource also hits forestdependent peoples and the economies of developing countries. As a major consumer - wood industries and forestry combined comprise the fifth largest industry in the UK, valued by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) at more than £7.6 billion – we have our part to play in managing this valuable resource. In spite of our own flourishing forest sector, some two-thirds of all the timber used in the UK is imported. The vast majority of imported timber, about 80%, is coniferous (softwood), mainly from Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltics, with a further 15% from deciduous (hardwood) forests in Europe and North America. Imports from tropical regions are declining but this area continues to be the most emotive. |120| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
While European forests are growing by an area the size of Cyprus annually, deforestation is occurring in other regions. Much of that loss is due to land clearance for other more profitable uses, such as palm oil production. Although confined to several easily identifiable “high risk” countries, illegal logging is a problem for the international wood trade and also contributes to deforestation or to degradation of the forests at risk. Currently, at least 20% of timber and timber products reaching the EU market is estimated to come from illegal sources. To combat this, the EU is moving towards legislation to ban the sale of illegally-harvested timber, along with traceability measures and sanctions. The new law, given the green light by MEPs in July, aims to reduce illegal deforestation and give consumers better assurances about the products they buy. It was welcomed as a major international breakthrough by MPs. The new legislation bans illegally-harvested timber or timber products from being placed on the EU market. Member States will be responsible for applying sanctions to operators who break the rules. The legislation sets out guidelines for imposing fines, taking into account, for example, the environmental damage caused, the value of the timber and lost tax revenue. EU countries can also impose criminal law penalties on unscrupulous dealers – a prison sentence is not out of the question. To ensure traceability, each operator along the supply chain will need to declare from whom they bought timber and to whom they sold it. Council has already informally agreed with the terms of this draft legislation but will need to rubber stamp
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |121|
it before it can pass into law. The rules are expected to take effect in late 2012 to allow timber operators time to adapt.
certification.
Against this backdrop, timber certification systems will surely gather momentum as a means of clearly determining the origins and legality of timber imported into the EU and elsewhere. A certified forest satisfies standards for environmentally, socially and economically responsible management.
Demand for chain of custody certification has grown dramatically in the last five years to the extent that, for many companies, the ability to prove that a timber product has been derived from a well-managed source is now a key factor in the specification of timber products. And as pressures clearly coming from all fronts, not least from UK and European Government, this trend can only continue.
Two major international frameworks have evolved to oversee and promote development of forest certification. These are the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), based in Germany, and the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), headquartered in Geneva.
A further initiative from FSC is Project Chain of Custody, through which individual projects, whether a new build development or major refurbishment/redevelopment, can obtain chain of custody certification during the build process and up to handover.
Forest certification is a two-tier process. At the first level, forests are independently certified to a recognised standard, which involves an inspection of the forest management unit by an independent certification body, to check that the forest management complies with agreed principles. Certified forest operations may then claim that the forest products being produced come from a responsibly managed forest – but before they can sell their products as certified, they must also obtain what is called ‘chain of custody’ certification.
The FSC Project Chain of Custody standard recognises that not all contractors on-site would have their own chain of custody certification and allows them to be covered as project members. Contractors/subcontractors working on the construction project are therefore not required to have their own chain of custody registration but must source timber/timber products from a supplier with valid chain of custody certification. Certification does take time, on average two to five years in the tropics, so where certified timber is not available, specifiers would do well to request that the timber is sourced through third-party legality schemes or similar.
At this second level, operators in the timber supply chain must also seek chain of custody certification to allow them to buy and sell outputs from these forests as certified. Chain of custody means simply the unbroken and traceable path that products take from the forest to the consumer, through all stages of manufacturing, sales and distribution. Together, FSC and PEFC cover a wide range of timber and forest products. Other schemes which have gained recognition are the Canadian Standards Authority (CSA) and the American Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), both accepted under PEFC, and the Malaysian National Timber Certification Council (MTCC) scheme. The UK also has its own National Forest Standard, known as the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS). It is the standard to which the Forestry Commission’s commercial arm, Forest Enterprise, was certified in 2000 and, since then, a substantial number of privately owned woodlands have gained certification. A unique feature of UKWAS is that it is endorsed by both FSC and PEFC. At this time, UK woodlands have opted for FSC endorsement, which means that all timber that is sourced from both Forest Enterprise and certified private woodlands in the UK can claim FSC |122| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The question ultimately is not whether you should be certified but if you can afford not to be. Image below: Courtesy of Woodscape certified hardwood walkway, Hanley Park, Stoke-on-Trent
[
Wood is the only carbon neutral construction material. Strength for strength timber uses 5 times less energy to produce than concrete and 6 times less than steel.* Every cubic metre of wood used in construction saves 0.8 tonne of CO2 from the atmosphere. Every timber frame home built saves an average of 4 tonnes of CO2.**
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Wood CO2ts less. wood is good for business, it costs nothing to learn more at www.woodforgood.com * Source: Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management Carbon Calculator ** Source: TRADA: 100m3 2 storey detached timber frame house
ENERGY Page 126 - 128 - A spirit of Collaboration, Jaryn Bradford, Development Manager, Energy Saving Trust Page 129 - 132 - Don Quixote Got it Wrong, Haydn Scholes, Director, Wardell Armstrong Page 134 - 136 - RenewableUK 2010 - Show Preview
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A spirit of collaboration needed to make the microgen market work Jaryn Bradford, Development Manager – Renewables, Energy Saving Trust The UK undoubtedly has massive potential for microgeneration. Our research suggests that up to 9 million units could be installed in the UK by 2030. But we cannot hope to exploit this potential to the full without doing some serious research in the field. Lab-based claims are not enough to ensure consumers are confident in what are in the main, relatively immature technologies in this country. We need to know how a household interacts with the technology once they have been installed in their home and how to get the best out of that technology. We are aiming to address this knowledge-gap by stepping up an ambitious portfolio of in-situ field trials – and it is a portfolio that we are keen to broaden further should we gain more backing from industry. Field trials play a vital role in providing a realistic assessment and establishing the advantages and limitations of a number of microgeneration and energy efficiency technologies, addressing market failure and providing the robust data to overcome it. The outcomes from the field trials will also inform the advice we give. We have just published Getting Warmer, the results of the first phase of our trial of heat pumps, with a lot of industry interest in our recommendations and are moving on to a second phase, which should tell us the ideal conditions to provide the perfect environment for the UK heat pump market to thrive and encourage consumers to be confident in installing these technologies in their homes. Location, Location, Location, our 2009 wind field trials, was the most comprehensive technical monitoring exercise of domestic small-scale wind turbines undertaken in the UK and showed UK potential energy generation of 3,250GWh from domestic small-scale wind turbines alone. Building on these successes, we are pressing on and are completing our trial looking at solar thermal water heating and have several others in development stages. But there are some field trials we would like to take on that as yet have no funding. These include proposed |126| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
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trials of smart home energy management systems (SHEMs), microCHP and many more. Funding to support our ongoing portfolio of field trials has mostly been limited to our members but it’s clear that future field trials will require a greater share of funding and support from the industry. There is no doubt that there’s an excellent business opportunity for UK PLC here if these technologies receive the right support in their infancy. But our experience shows that it remains a big challenge to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds to develop further trials of technologies, that could ensure an industry potentially worth billions, works as effectively as it can in the UK. We will need to work with industry to identify relevant domestic technologies, where performance and suitability for the domestic sector has not been tested and where a lack of validated information is hindering householder take up of the technology. But there needs to be a more open attitude between competitors in the emerging microgen market if the wider market is to understand how consumers will best benefit from new products. Ideally, we would like to see a more ‘collegiate’ approach; the pooling of a little resource from a wide cross section of the industry. We certainly wouldn’t ask that competitors lay down their plans for all competitors to see but instead contribute to a central resource that will benefit the market as a whole. There is good reason for optimism in the small renewables industry, but until customers are confident to choose the most appropriate technology, the market will face barriers. That’s why we want to work with the industry to overcome these obstacles. Get it right and it could position the UK microgen industry to take a big slice of the emerging global market. Get it wrong and we’ll stagnate. While it’s the householder that will be using these technologies, it’s industry that has to prove their efficacy – and the challenge starts now. For more information on the Energy Saving Trust field trials portfolio, visit www.est.org.uk
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WIND ENERGY - Don Quixote* got it wrong By Haydn Scholes, Director of Wardell Armstrong’s Renewable Energy Group
* Don Quixote fully titled The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Manchais a novel written by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, published in two parts in 1605 and 1615. In the books Don Quixote embarks on a series of adventures, starting with an attack on windmills that he believes to be ferocious giants.
There’s no doubt that wind farms can be controversial. Among the claims trotted out by the anti-wind lobby are that wind turbines are ugly, noisy, unnecessary, inefficient, a danger to birds, and bad for house prices and tourism. But is all that really true? And if it is, why do other countries seem a lot happier about using wind technology to reduce their dependence on fossil fuel, cut down harmful emissions and make their energy supplies more secure? Haydn Scholes, Director of Wardell Armstrong’s Renewable Energy Group, helps set the record straight (again). The literary character Don Quixote is famous for tilting at windmills thinking that they were ferocious giants, a nonsense of course but to him a chivalrous act. He got it wrong as they were actually useful machines providing a staple dietary element for the people at the time. His modern day counterpart, the anti-wind lobby, have also got it wrong. They see wind turbines as their ferocious giants and, despite the efforts of the British Wind Energy Association (see Blowing Away the Myths on their website), continue to propagate the same myths, half truths and misinformation about a technology that has an important role to play in combating climate change, a not so chivalrous act. Tilting at windmills 1 - no-one wants wind farms near to where they live In fact, survey after survey shows that the great majority of people in the UK – between 70% and 80% - are in favour of wind farm development. An NOP world survey,
for example, found 80% agreement that wind farms are necessary to produce renewable energy to help us meet current and future energy needs in the UK. Only 8% disagreed with this view. It’s certainly true that people living close to proposed sites can be unconvinced to begin with - but local support usually returns to over 75% once the wind farm is built. We also find that most communities come to identify with their wind farm, particularly when there’s some local benefit flowing from it, like community funds. Some developers will even help local communities to develope their own wind turbines as part of a wider project. Tilting at windmills 2 - global warming isn’t real Global temperatures are increasing steadily year on year, and the ten warmest years on record have all been since 1990. The overwhelming majority of climate scientists believe that global warming is a direct consequence of manmade carbon emissions over the last 200 years. Today’s CO2 levels, for example, are 36% higher than pre-industrial times. The UK Climate Projections 2009, based on Met Office science, have recently illustrated the extent of the changes the UK might face in the absence of global action to cut emissions – warmer and wetter winters, hotter and drier summers, increased risk of coastal erosion and more severe weather. Sea levels are also forecast to rise another 88cm by 2100, directly affecting 100 million people worldwide. So global warming is unquestionably real and we need to find ways reduce our CO2 emissions now. ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |129|
Tilting at windmills 3 - wind energy isn’t enough to make a real difference With the UK’s energy demand growing at roughly two times GDP, wind energy is actually the most viable renewable energy option that we currently have. Wind turbines are already saving over four million tonnes of carbon emissions a year. And if the Government hits its 10% target for renewable energy by 2010, this figure could rise to over ten million tonnes.
up by standby conventional power stations We need standby power stations (spinning reserve) for many reasons, primarily because demand fluctuates so much. How many thousands of people switch on their electric kettles during the 9pm news to make a cup of tea? This causes a massive surge in demand. The same spinning reserve can be used to flatten out fluctuations in supply from wind generation and overall CO2 emissions are still significantly reduced.
Every thousand megawatts of wind energy can replace about 350 megawatts generated by coal-fired power stations. Every kWh of electricity generated by wind saves 860g of CO2 compared with coal and 480g compared with the UK’s current generating mix according to BERR (2007). So in just one year, a single 1MW wind turbine will typically save over one thousand tonnes of CO2.
It is true that wind turbines cannot supply base load electricity or more than about 20% of demand but, in western Europe, they generate more power in the winter months when demand is at its highest and their contribution is most needed.
The average wind farm in the UK will pay back the energy used in its manufacture within three to five months. This compares well with coal or nuclear power stations, which take six months or more.
Tilting at windmills 7 - wind turbines kill birds It’s true that wind turbines can kill birds – probably one or two every year per turbine. The British Wind Energy Association estimates that the total is currently some 2,000 pa in the UK.
Tilting at windmills 4 - wind isn’t very efficient The efficiency of wind compares well with other forms of renewable energy. A modern wind turbine, such as an Enercon 2.3MW E70, operates at an efficiency of around 50%, while the theoretical maximum for a wind turbine is 59%. Typical efficiencies for other comparable renewables are 9% for solar photovoltaic cells, 23% for a small scale 2MW biomass fired steam turbine and 37% for a large scale 25MW biomass fired power plant (gasifier & combined cycle gas turbine). A conventional coal fired 500MW power station has an efficiency of around 35%, while the figure for a large 1,000MW natural gas fired combined cycle gas turbine is 55%. Tilting at windmills 5 - wind farms only generate energy for 30% of the time This is wrong and based on a misunderstanding because the energy that’s generated changes with wind speed. A wind turbine starts up at four metres per second, reaches full power at around 12 to 15m/s and shuts down at 25m/s for safety reasons. So if the likely average wind speed at the site is 7m/s, a wind turbine can actually be generating electricity for a large proportion of the year (around 75% of the time) and still have a capacity factor of 25-30%. The reality is that wind turbines do generate electricity 70% to 85% of the time and could supply up to 20% of the UK’s electricity without significantly affecting grid stability. Tilting at windmills 6 – wind farms have to be backed |130| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Recent Danish research has shown that migrating birds simply fly around wind farms to avoid them and we need to compare the very small number at risk from wind farms with the ten million birds killed by cars and trucks every year – not to mention those killed by pollution from coal fired power stations. The RSPB states that climate change is the biggest threat to birds in the UK, with some 25% of all species being under threat from global warming. Ruth Davis, Head of Climate Change Policy at the RSPB, says: “We must harness our abundant wind, wave and solar energy to avoid the dangerous climate change that threatens our wildlife.” So which has the bigger effect on bird populations wind turbines or global warming? Tilting at windmills 8 - wind farms are noisy The truth is that noise levels from wind turbines are generally low - and under most operating conditions they’re completely masked by wind-generated background noise. Planning permission wouldn’t be
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ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |131|
granted for any wind farm that broke acceptable noise levels, typically 35-40 dB(A) at the nearest dwelling. Levels of infrasonic low frequency noise and vibration radiating from modern wind turbines are so low that they lie below the threshold of perception. A noisy wind farm is therefore a badly designed wind farm. Just to illustrate this point, indicative noise levels measured by dB(A) are 35 for a quiet bedroom, 20-40 for rural night-time background noise, 55 for a car going 40mph at 100m, 65 for a truck going 30mph at 100m, 60 for a busy office … and 35-45 for a wind farm at 500m. Tilting at windmills 9 - wind farms reduce house prices This doesn’t appear to be the case in the popular and sought after counties of Devon or Cornwall, which have been generating wind energy for years. They now have fifteen wind farms between them, with a further twenty or more proposed. A number of studies have shown that if wind farm proposals do have an impact on house prices, the prices return to normal after the wind farm is built.
Tilting at windmills 10 - wind turbines ruin tourism There’s little or no evidence to support this claim. In fact, the UK’s first commercial wind farm at Delabole, Cornwall, received 350,000 visitors in its first ten years of operation. 35,000 people pass through the doors of the Scroby Sands Visitor Centre each year. 10,000 take the turbine tour at the Ecotech Centre in Swaffham, Norfolk. A recent MORI poll in Scotland showed that 80% of tourists would be interested in visiting a wind farm. Wind farm developers are often asked to provide a visitor centre, viewing platforms and rights of way to their sites for the benefit of both local people and tourists. Tilting at windmills 11 - wind turbines are a blight on the landscape For some people this might be true. For others, they’re clean and elegant machines that fight global |132| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
warming and make sometimes boring landscapes more interesting. It just depends on your point of view. Wind farms by, their very nature, have visual impact but wind farm developers put a lot of effort into minimising them and take landscape sensitivity into account when choosing and designing their sites. At Wardell Armstrong we often get heavily involved in this process with site finding and environmental impact assessments. The real question is whether the visual impact is significant and, if so, whether it’s an acceptable trade- off against all the other benefits that the wind farm will bring. Modern wind turbines are taller than their predecessors with much bigger generators - so fewer are needed these days for the same capacity. Ultimately Don Quixote regains his sanity but dies a melancholy broken man. Only time will tell if the anti- wind lobby will suffer the same fate.
RenewableUK 2010
Annual Conference & Exhibition
02– 04
November 2010 | Glasgow, UK
– – – –
Over 4,000 delegates Over 200 exhibitors – 70% already booked Networking, side and social events Careers fair and dedicated technology days
Join us at RenewableUK 2010, our 32nd annual conference and exhibition. Three days of conference sessions, exhibition, and side events will examine industry developments in onshore and offshore wind energy, wave and tidal energy, and microand small-wind systems. – Registration now open – Book your exhibition space www.renewable-uk.com
TM
Renewable UK 2010 The RenewableUK’s 2010 conference will welcome an international audience to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow, towards the end of one of the most dynamic years in the history of the UK’s renewables sector. In January leases were awarded for Round 3 offshore zones, in April offshore-installed capacity reached 1 gigawatt (GW) and in September the UK wind sector achieved 5GW. Renewables are now within reach of supplying 10% of the nation’s electricity and during these exciting months RenewableUK rebranded from its previous name of BWEA, the British Wind Energy Associations. The interest in the sector was clearly seen at all of the RenewableUK events throughout. The Offshore Conference and Exhibition, in Liverpool in July, attracted a record audience with exhibition space sold out weeks before the event. The Wave and Tidal Conference, in London earlier in the year, saw a record media attendance and significantly more delegates than the previous year. All the other events, including the Small Systems Conference and Exhibition, the Health and Safety event and the Welsh Conference, recorded excellent attendance. What drives this interest? The scale of opportunity in the low carbon economy is truly enormous, with growth currently being driven both by EU targets and by necessity. By 2020 each EU member will have to source a significant portion of its primary energy from renewables; that’s the total amount of energy used in heating, transport and electricity. Our allocation here in the UK is 15%, which would be a five-fold increase on the slightly more than 3% contribution from renewables we have today. The most viable scenario, given our abundance of wind, wave and tidal resources, is to have as much renewable electricity in our energy mix as we can. We are already close to generating 10% of all our electricity from renewables, with wind energy providing as much as all other renewable sources put together. If we manage to increase the contribution of electricity to approximately 30%, that would translate into half of the EU 2020 target. The expectation is that renewable heat and transport fuels could provide the rest. |134| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
On the other hand, almost a quarter (23%) of all the electricity generating capacity connected to the grid today will be retired by 2020, as all but one of the UK’s nuclear power stations and several of the older coal-fired plants approach the end of their working lives. This is a oncein-a-generation opportunity to upgrade our power system while reducing carbon emissions and meeting EU targets. Within the next 10 years we expect to see an array of devices based both on- and offshore which could provide in excess of 130TWh of low carbon electricity per year, more than enough to power every home in the UK! As this goal now looks eminently achievable, Government, industry and academia is increasingly starting to look beyond 2020, to the 2050 milestone which, according to the Climate Change Bill, must be the year by which we have completed the low carbon transition. In other words, by 2050 we should be sourcing 80% of our energy from low carbon sources. The obvious question here is how do we make sure that this transition is properly capitalised? How do we ensure sufficient investment is in place? Installing 1 megawatt of onshore wind costs around £1.3 million, and in the UK we could still have both space and wind resources sufficient for a further 12,000 megawatts (MW), up from 3,500 today. Just for onshore wind the total value of investment could rise to £15.6 billion. For offshore, the capital requirements could be much larger. Currently, average costs of deployment are around £3 million/MW, and with a total development pipeline nearing 50,000MW, this could come to £150 billion. Quantifying it in a different way, let us assume that in order to reach our EU 2020 commitments we would need to have a total of 14,000 MW of onshore wind and a total of 20,000 MW of offshore wind by 2020. This scenario would require £57 billion of investment over the next 10 years. So far, all investment in delivering the UK’s wind farms has been private. Whether companies have financed projects off their balance sheets, by limited companies and individuals putting money upfront, or whether capital has been raised by selling equity, the industry is proud of its track record of not relying on Government support. On its part, the Government has correspondingly shifted in its attitude of viewing renewable targets as a cumbersome obligation, to viewing it as an exciting ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |135|
opportunity. There is a clear consensus that renewable energy can create jobs and drive economic growth. Cautious estimates allow for the creation of 60,000+ jobs in the wind energy sector alone by 2020. Much of this will be achieved by attracting inward investment in UK-based manufacturing from major industry players, some of whom (Siemens, General Electric and Mitsubishi amongst others) have already stated their commitment. On the development side, a raft of companies are busy rolling out ambitious projects both on and offshore. This is all very encouraging but there are some things that only Governments can do, especially given the scale of the next wave of developments. For instance, manufacturing on the scale required for offshore wind farms can only happen if the infrastructure is in place: rail and road links, suitable ports, loading facilities and accompanying infrastructure. This investment needs to come from the Government. It is unrealistic to expect that manufacturers will open factories in areas with inadequate facilities, nor is it fair to expect a contribution towards upgrades, particularly as the UK competes with other countries around the North Sea to attract business. An investment model such as the Ports Competition, announced earlier this year, could be the way forward and needs to be followed through. Finally, investment climate is both about availability of finance and policy framework. For instance, the efficiency of the planning system is an important investment parameter and there can be little question of where a developer will go, all else being equal, if in one country it takes 12 months to get a planning decision
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for a renewable energy project and in another it takes 36 months. Sorting out such challenges now can only serve us in good stead for the future and this is where Government and industry must work together. There is no better place to discuss such issues, to network and do business than over the three days of the RenewableUK’s annual conference. The SECC is a fitting venue for the Association’s main event this year, as it is a modern conference centre with some of the most up-todate facilities in the UK and in an extremely convenient location. It is also appropriate to visit Glasgow, given that Scotland has been setting the pace for renewable energy deployment with a huge expansion of its wind, wave and tidal programme. We expect a record audience, three exciting days and many opportunities for our visitors to catch up and network. Welcome to Glasgow and RenewableUK 2010.
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ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |137|
MISCELLANY Page 139
- Environment Agency Prosecutions
Page 140 - Law - Environmental Pollution - Bryan Back, Chairman, Environmental Innovations Ltd Page 142 - 144 - Invasive Species - Dr Dick Shaw, Principle Investigator, CABI Page 145 - 146 - Conservation - Businesses Restoring Biodiversity - Peter Dorans, The Wildlife Trusts Page 148 - 151 - Mapping - INSPIRE and the UK Location Programme - Chris Holcroft - Chairman, AGI Page 152 - 154 - Training- Energy & Utility Skills - Tim Balcon, Chief Executive of Energy & Utility Skills Page 155 - Summit Skills Column Page 156 - 157 - Eco Christmas Gift Guide Page 158 - 167 - Case Studies Page 168 - Famous Last Words - Martin Wadsworth
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ENVIRONMENT AGENCY PROSECUTIONS Carpeted by the court Burning waste at his farm in Pavenham, Bedford, resulted in a £5,000 fine and full costs of £1,458 for Anthony Julian West. Bedford Magistrates’ Court heard that carpet from his marquee business had been burned at Long Lost Farm in East End along with plastics, green waste and woods.
Housing developer fined for polluting stream with sewage Barratt Homes have been ordered to pay more than £13,400 in fines and costs after sewage escaped from a housing development and polluted a stream close to the Tamar Valley On September 2, 2009 a member of the public reported to the Agency that a stream running through their garden was discoloured and smelt of sewage. An officer visited the property and saw sewage fungus growing on the bed of a stream that flows into a tributary of the River Tamar.
Farming company admits pollution Glentham Farming Company Ltd was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £4,321 at Lincoln Magistrates Court or discharging grossly polluting effluent – a mix of trade effluent, land drainage and yard drainage – into an unnamed tributary of Seggimoor Beck. Woodall traced the pollution to a pipe coming from the farm. There was no other source of water flowing into the stream, which is connected to the Norton Beck and River Ancholme.
Wine company fined for waste packaging offences A wine importation and distribution company has been ordered to pay more than £8,300 in fines and costs for failing to comply with waste packaging regulations The case was brought by the Environment Agency. De Bortoli Wines UK Ltd supply wine to retailers and wholesalers from a premises at Farnham near Blandford, Dorset. Wines are imported from a parent company in Australia to a bonded warehouse where it is distributed to customers. The packaging is mainly glass bottles and cardboard boxes.
Swimming pool chemical company fined after polluting eight mile stretch of river
Company fined for Heathrow groundwater pollution
One of the UK’s leading water and swimming pool chemical treatment companies, whose careless practices led to a major incident and decimated the entire fish population along an eight mile stretch of the River Coln, has been ordered to pay £146,000.
A London company responsible for supplying jet fuel at Heathrow Airport was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay the Environment Agency in excess of £14,000 for its costs, after severely polluting groundwater beneath the airport, with at least 139,000 litres of Jet A-1 aviation fuel.
One of the UK’s leading water and swimming pool chemical treatment companies, whose careless operational practices led to a major incident and decimated the entire fish population along an eight mile stretch of the River Coln, has been ordered to pay £146,000. Biolab (UK) Ltd pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to take all measures necessary to prevent a major accident, and to limit the consequences of such an accident, and causing pollution to the River Coln.
Heathrow Hydrant Operating Company Limited (HHOpCo), of 8 York Road, London SE1 had pleaded guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in June this year to causing polluting matter to enter the Taplow Gravels groundwater, contrary to section 85 (1) and (6) of the Water Resources Act 1991. The case had been committed to Isleworth Crown Court for sentence.
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |139|
Environmental Pollution: Ignorance is No Defence. Brian Back, Chairman, Environmental Innovations Ltd The worldwide adoption of the Polluter Pays Principle, with regard to environmental contamination and pollution, makes it abundantly clear that ignorance is not a defence. Sadly from our extensive research in polling senior business figures, ignorance is widespread; 93% of directors we polled mistakenly believe that the risks and legislation only apply to chemical companies. The truth is, any site which receives deliveries is open to the risk of diesel spills, ‘harmless’ substances like milk can devastate a river by removing oxygen, and virtually anything can become a contaminant in the event of a fire. Under the European Liability Directive 2004/35/EC, which came into force in March 2009, polluters will be fined and have to meet the full costs of returning the contaminated area to its pre-spill condition. This can run into tens, hundreds of thousands or millions of pounds, in extreme cases of negligence directors even face imprisonment. In addition to the physical cost, there is the bad publicity which, as BP has found, can come close to destroying your reputation and brand. And as many have found to their horror, standard insurance will not cover them, especially when it can be proved that they have failed to meet minimum precautionary standards of safety and containment. Many businesses seem to take the absence of a visit from an EA inspector as evidence that their site doesn’t have anything to worry about and that it somehow fails to qualify for compliance with EU pollution guidelines. Combine this with the Environment Agency’s estimation that 75% of all pollution incidents originate from nonregulated areas of industry and you have a fairly clear picture that industry simply isn’t taking the matter seriously enough. With so many companies striving to be seen as environmentally friendly it is astonishing to find such complacency. A great many companies are operating purely on luck or are weighing the cost of implementing a safe pollution and firewater containment system against the odds of having an accident, being caught and getting prosecuted. It’s time industry realised that environmental pollution is a crime not a health and safety infringement. Companies have a moral and legal responsibility to ensure that they have taken all reasonable precautions to ensure that their staff, their site and their immediate environment are protected. Many businesses don’t have any spill equipment, and those that do still rely on spill kits as the sole backbone of their accident prevention strategy, even though they have numerous significant limitations. They cannot |140| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
cope with large scale spills, they put staff at risk during deployment, they are not a 24 hour solution, and they are not practical or effective in extreme weather conditions. They also fail the environmentally friendly test due to their disposable nature, they cannot be reused and until replaced, at additional cost, the site is without protection. Accidents and fires can and do happen at any time of the day or night, so the only truly safe way to protect a site is to have a fully automated system like those designed and manufactured by Environmental Innovations Limited. Their systems automatically monitor, deploy and alert 24/7 365 days a year. By automatically blocking the outflow from a site the entire drainage system is converted into a capacious containment vessel for spills, flooding or firewater and foam. Staff are not required to enter the area of the spill or fire to attempt to deploy spill kits and can retreat to a safe distance to allow emergency services to do their job. The powerful valves that seal the drain, are so well engineered that they are estimated to require 1/50th of the energy used to close an equivalent Penstock valve and even permit full operation via battery. This unique method of containment will buy precious time to have the contaminated material sucked out of the blocked drain, recycled and reused. As soon as the drains are clear the valve unlocks and allows normal flow to resume, the system then reverts back to its monitoring stance in preparation for any future incident. There is always a limit to the extent that accidents such as chemical spills can be prevented by the adoption of best practice, and firewater runoff is an unavoidable consequence of a fire. However, enforcement agencies are less than sympathetic and all site owners and operators need to be aware that they are totally responsible for environmental damage. It’s not possible to eradicate the incidents themselves but it is possible to put in place a level of containment that will prevent them from escalating into disasters. Tolerance for environmental pollution is eroding faster and faster each day and with it will come ever more draconian legislation. There is an inevitable cost to implementing a serious containment system but it’s something that all businesses need to implement if they care about their staff, their neighbours (aquatic and human) and their balance sheets. In these days of greater environmental awareness, adopting a fingers crossed approach is neither legally or morally acceptable.
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Invasive Species By Dr Dick Shaw, Principle Investigator, CABI The rapid increase in trade and travel between countries has resulted in a leap in the influx of exotic plants and other non-native species to new environments. The majority arrive without the natural enemies insects, fungal pathogens or nematodes - that keep them in check in their native range. This gives them an unfair advantage over their new neighbours and results in them running wild. Globally, the cost of damage caused by invasive species has been estimated to be US$1.5 trillion per year – close to 5% of global GDP. More recent estimates of costs within Europe alone are €12 billion. Biological control is a means of levelling the playing field by reintroducing some of the specialist natural enemies, or “biological control agents”, that exert control on it in its native range, to their host plants. There have been many notable successes around the globe of the use of biological control agents. Collectively these agents have been responsible for saving hundreds of millions of pounds, increasing food security and dramatically improving biodiversity. In countries like the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, research into natural control is often prioritised the moment a new and problematic invasive species has got out of hand. Biological control has many advantages: Environmental – Biological control is natural and does not rely on the use of man-made chemicals, that can impact adversely on the ecosystem in which they are used. Furthermore, the amount of herbicides required for weed control can be reduced. Cost – After the initial research costs, bar monitoring activities, there is virtually no need for further expenditure once the agents are established and controlling the weed. Sustainability – It is permanent and therefore completely sustainable. The weed will be continually under attack from an army of natural enemies. Spread – The control agents, be they insects or pathogens, will locate and affect most, if not all, populations of a weed until stopped by physical, environmental or chemical barriers, just as they have done in their native range. Safety – Biological control agents should pose no threat to human health, crop production, or beneficial organisms. |142| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
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Landscape – Whilst the agents are doing their job, the previously suppressed native flora, should be able to gradually recover and re-colonise areas without the need for extensive replanting. Probably the best known invasive species in the UK is Japanese Knotweed, which was introduced to Europe in the mid-nineteenth century as an ornamental plant. Since then, Japanese Knotweed has become infamous for its ability to damage infrastructure such as road surfaces and even concrete, as well as exacerbate the risks and impacts of flooding. It has a serious negative impact on biodiversity, as it almost totally excludes native plants and the associated wildlife. The costs to the UK alone are estimated to be more than €150 million per year and complete control, if attempted countrywide, would take three years and cost around €1.7 billion. Although chemical and mechanical control methods continue to be developed, they are only partially effective
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and always expensive. As the smallest fragment of rhizome can give rise to a new plant, eradication is very difficult. Infestations in its favoured riparian (riverbank) habitats are extremely challenging due to limited access and restrictions on chemical use. Since 2003, CABI has been working to stop the spread of Japanese Knotweed thanks to funding from a consortium of sponsors. The sap-sucking psyllid, Aphalara itadori was identified as a potential biological control agent and, in March 2010, was granted a licence by the UK Department for Food and Rural Affairs’ Minister for Wildlife, and The Welsh Assembly Government’s Environment Minister,for its release. So far they are proving to be highly specific to Japanese knotweed and appear to pose no threat to important native species or crops.
Businesses Restoring Biodiversity By Peter Dorans, Corporate Relations Manager for The Wildlife Trusts Environmental responsibility has long been recognised as making good business sense. As well as having a visually pleasing impact on the bottom line, reductions in emissions, energy consumption and waste generation provide measurable results. This means good news which can be shared with staff, customers and shareholders. A recent review by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) of the annual reports of the 100 largest companies in the world found just two which identified biodiversity as a key issue. Whilst it has become commonplace for many organisations to implement practices that reduce their impact on aspects of the environment, such as carbon emissions, the PWC research suggests that the natural world goes largely ignored. The Biodiversity Benchmark There may seem to be compelling reasons for a business to focus its environmental efforts somewhere other than wildlife. The sheer scale of the challenge can appear overwhelming, perhaps with no sense that efforts made by an individual organisation can contribute to a wider vision for the natural world. Businesses may find the legislative framework fragmented, or feel they face a confusing array of national and local requirements, precluding any greater ambition for wildlife. Finally, the demand from customers and financial benefit may not be immediately obvious. Image below: Hedgehog - Gillian Day
The Wildlife Trusts’ Biodiversity Benchmark has, since 2007, provided organisations with a framework to address many of these issues. It publicly rewards and recognises commitment to biodiversity, and the implementation of that commitment on one or more sites. It sets the standard for management of landholdings for the benefit of wildlife. Across the UK 4,000 hectares have currently been certified as meeting that standard. Partnership With Communities The organisations which have achieved Biodiversity Benchmark come from a diverse range of sectors – forest holiday villages, pharmaceuticals, waste operators, quarries, the airline industry and energy. Their starting points for maintaining certification are no less diverse. However, all have become closer to the communities in which they operate, are able to differentiate themselves from their competitors, and provide their staff and customers with an environment richer in wildlife and a sense of pride in enhancing the environment. Local communities are at the heart of efforts to restore the natural environment – after all, it is their environment. Biodiversity Benchmark requires organisations to form partnerships with local wildlife groups, who can help them to define and deliver their biodiversity priorities. Often communities are able to access certified sites as an important recreational and educational resource. They foster a greater understanding of the organisation’s environmental objectives and how it is addressing concerns. Furthermore, the requirement for a system for monitoring and ensuring compliance with biodiversity legislation can provide a reasonable level of assurance that inadvertent but costly breaches will be avoided, along with the associated negative impact on community relations. Mark of Distinction Sustainability increasingly carries equal weight to price, especially for organisations bidding for large contracts. Some organisations are finding that a recognised certification from an independent organisation can point to a depth of environmental responsibility which ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |145|
Image left: Comma butterfly - David Longshaw
The Biodiversity Benchmark is one of the many threads that combine to form The Wildlife Trusts’ vision of A Living Landscape, a vision which provides the wider aspirational end point for our natural environment, to which any organisation can contribute.
competitors can only allude to. For others a healthy natural environment, bursting with wildlife, is central to the guest experience or helps with staff well-being. Center Parcs, which has achieved Biodiversity Benchmark across all of its forest holiday villages, has found that, even for an organisation with well-established systems, the discipline of Biodiversity Benchmark has helped to focus environmental management. Assessment Process The assessment process for Biodiversity Benchmark is unashamedly rigorous. Adrian Bailey is Landfill Aftercare Supervisor for Viridor and, at the time of writing, was guiding three sites through the latter stages of the assessment. When Viridor applied for the Biodiversity Benchmark, it had already recognised that closed landfill sites, properly managed, have great potential for wildlife and had carried out baseline surveys from which Biodiversity Action Plans had been established. Biodiversity Benchmark assessment seemed the natural progression, as it would recognise the work which had already taken place, and help protect wildlife in the long-term. The company has been operating under an Environmental Management System certified to ISO14001 since the early 1990s. Adrian has found that, although Biodiversity Benchmark has been designed to complement other environmental certifications, preparation and the assessment process has been challenging. Partnerships have been built and maintained and appropriate land management plans and monitoring programmes established. The engagement of staff at the two sites has also been crucial. Staff members have been able to pursue their interest in wildlife at work, attending partnership meetings or coming back into work in the evenings to help put in place improvements. . Overall Adrian believes the process is helping to bring Viridor closer to communities around the three sites, enhancing the company’s reputation in the industry, and providing a source of great pride and satisfaction through protecting and conserving habitats. |146| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Our economy and our society depend on a rich and healthy natural environment. A Living Landscape is a recovery plan for nature championed by The Wildlife Trusts since 2006 to create a resilient and healthy environment rich in wildlife for everyone. The realisation of this compelling vision depends on businesses, both as landholders and an integral part of communities. The 4,000 hectares of Biodiversity Benchmarked land are contributing to the restoration, recreation and reconnection of habitats which, led by The Wildlife Trusts, is taking place on a massive scale across the UK. In A Living Landscape, wildlife, habitats and ecosystems are recovering from past declines as we all use and manage land in greater harmony with nature. Wildlife and people are adapting well to climate change and natural processes are helping to reduce climate impacts. People are inspired by and engaged in protecting the wildlife they experience, recognising its economic and social value as well as the many ways it improves quality of life. A Living Landscape provides the wider context and vision to which business can contribute and in Biodiversity Benchmark, there exists the framework in which that contribution can be defined, managed and recognised. There are 47 Wildlife Trusts across the UK working together for A Living Landscape and an environment rich in wildlife for everyone. With more than 800,000 members, The Wildlife Trusts are the largest voluntary organisation in the UK dedicated to all habitats and species, whether on land or at sea. To find out more about Biodiversity Benchmark contact Peter Dorans at pdorans@wildlifetrusts.org or 01636 670064. Image below: Dragonfly - James Spencer
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ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |147|
INSPIRE and the UK Location Programme: Geographic Information in UK environmental policy. By Chris Holcroft, Director of the Association of Geographic Information (AGI) Most of us never really think of geography, let alone ourselves as ‘geographers’, but the question “where?” is ever present in managing and interacting with operational data in the public and private sector. This is very much the case in the environmental sector and it is now top-down from the EU level, where the UK Government has been mandated to better organise the storage, discovery, use and sharing of the public ‘location’ information we often use to ask the “where” questions that lie at the centre of our decision making. When you think about it, virtually no piece of business or public sector information exists without a position locating it to a place on the world’s surface, be it a house, a business premise, a telegraph pole, a manhole cover, a path, a pipeline, a field, a watercourse, a parliamentary constituency, a railway line, the position of an ambulance and so on. Over recent decades, as information has become digitally encoded and stored, its positional importance, compounded with the need for better integrated management processes, has fuelled the rise of computer-based Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and what we call Geographic Information (GI). The public sector was an early adopter of both but, despite wide take-up, has been fragmented and has not attained its full potential. This is also true in the private and third sectors. Now, at a time of economic cutbacks, it is important to recognise that GI and GIS can be used by all organisations to accurately map the demand for services and then identify where delivery resources should best be located and deployed. GIS can unlock the ideal of delivering more for less- save money and deliver better outcomes-if location is used as the centre-piece for decision making. |148| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Today, the value of sales and services in the UK Geographic Information market is estimated to be between £650M and £900M per annum depending on the source. That said the ‘value-add’ is significant. Ordnance Survey data, for example, has been claimed to underpin £100Bn of British economic activity. Today, very few branches of industry and public administration are not touched by GI and GIS somewhere and its importance is growing. In recent years the EU INSPIRE Directive, conceived because of the impact of pan-European environmental challenges and impacts, has provided a top-down effect on UK law and environmental policy to better manage and use geographic information. And thus yield richer benefits. INSPIRE – The EU Dimension INSPIRE is short for Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community. It seeks to create a European Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI); In other words, a uniform way to identify, classify, store and share geographic information across public bodies and those associated with them. ‘SDI’ may sound obscure, but creating them is now a global phenomenon and considered central to enabling 21st century governance and policy delivery. Outside the EU much success in this area is being recorded, for example, in North America, China, Japan, Korea and Australia. The catalyst for creating a spatial information infrastructure in Europe was environmental. Environmental impacts do not respect borders. Flooding, coastal erosion, extreme storms, pollution, industrial accidents and others can impact many nations concurrently with a potentially high cost in life,
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environmental damage and economic cost. Mitigating these impacts is best served by joined-up up thinking and thus, joined-up systems. INSPIRE plans to be better able to formulate, implement and monitor environmental policies, bearing in mind these massive cross-border environmental issues and the challenge of climate change. The environment remains at the heart of the Directive but, because environmental factors cross into so many other policy areas, it will be used more widely. INSPIRE is a European legislative instrument to which all EU member nations are bound. It has the following main aspects: INSPIRE lays down a general framework for structuring, storing, discovering, using and sharing geographic information, for the purposes of Community environmental policies and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment. INSPIRE is an infrastructure for geographic
Much progress has already been made within the UK in the detailed planning and implementation processes. Significantly the INSPIRE Directive was transposed into the respective laws of the United Kingdom at the end of December 2009, ahead of many other EU nations. The UK has now moved into a long-term INSPIRE
Image: St Katherines Dock-OS MasterMap © Crown Copyright, 2010
• •
information, to be established and operated by all Member States. • INSPIRE does not require collection of new spatial data by Member States. • INSPIRE does not affect existing Intellectual Property Rights. • INSPIRE is transposed in UK laws and will be fully implemented in stages to 2019. • Data interoperability and data sharing are prime objectives. • Future UK GI/Location strategy and policy will have to meet the needs of INSPIRE. • INSPIRE is most relevant to the public sector.
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implementation programme, under what is called the UK Location Strategy and the UK Location Programme. The UK Location Strategy – putting Location at the heart of policy making. The UK Location Strategy, published in October 2008, placed GI and GIS squarely within Government policy and has made it a vehicle to deliver not only better public services, through better data discovery and sharing, but also to deliver the mandatory EU INSPIRE Directive. The change of government has no effect on the intention to implement INSPIRE or the time-scales. In the public sector, the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) reported in 2006 that there are thousands of public sector information (PSI) holders in the UK; in Local Authorities, emergency services, trading funds and central Government departments. Most of this PSI is geographically referenced. The challenge remains that a lot of geographical information is still often held in silos, often duplicated and not easily shared by public bodies for the purpose of better governance. The UK Location Strategy, through its executive body the UK Location Council, plans to deal with many of the obstacles to maximize the use of geographic information for the benefit of the nation. It will do this in part by building a national ‘metadata service’ infrastructure that will allow public and private sector users to search and locate geographical information to exploit and share; it will also allow, and indeed expect, users to publish information about their own geographic information holdings too for the benefit of others. This can help break down the silo walls. It has the potential to usher in a new era of better data sharing, cost savings and assist more effective decision making. These are highly pertinent benefits at this time of financial constraint in the national economy. The UK Location Programme – delivering INSPIRE Like INSPIRE at the pan European level, the UK Location Programme http://location.defra.gov.uk/ is the UK delivery mechanism for INSPIRE. Implementation involves cross-government funding and co-operation. Stakeholder interest is even wider ranging including private enterprise and the citizen. Defra is the lead department and a dedicated team within it – The UK SDI Programme Team - is conducting the mechanics for both the Location Strategy and the UK INSPIRE implementation. The UK Location Council provides the governance structure and includes members reporting to Ministers from the LGA, Defra, MOD, BIS, CLG, The Devolved Administrations, The Association for Geographic Information (AGI), NERC, ONS, Environment Agency, Ordnance Survey, Cabinet Office, Land Registry and National Archives. A number of subsidiary groups additionally provide important steers on data standards
and broad stakeholder engagement. Over the last 18 months many achievements have been made, not least in structuring and funding the project team and governing bodies, outreach and communications activity, plus the transposition of the INSPIRE Directive itself. A useful overall perspective of these recent achievements can be found in the UK Location Programme first Annual Report. In recent months Ordnance Survey has been appointed as the service providor for the metadata discovery service. The Location Strategy is the most significant development in modern UK Government concerning the importance of location. For the first time, a coherent national framework has been identified. For the first time, domestic affairs ministers in any government have officially agreed on the importance of location for good governance. Looking further With the burgeoning of geographic devices in modern society – SatNav, Geotagging mobile phones, environmental sensors, web-mapping and so on – plus wider use of geographic information not just by organisations but also the consumer, government in the first decade of the 21st century has hopefully sat up to recognise and embrace the potential. Many other policy drivers affecting the environment, for example, the Operation Efficiency Programme, the Transparency Agenda, Data.gov.uk, the Pitt Review, following the significant flooding episodes of 2007 and the Marine Bill, have geographical information at their heart. Additionally preparations by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) for the next national Census have also highlighted the vital importance of unified address geography in the UK. There is an oft-repeated truism that 80% of information relates to place. All things happen somewhere. Geography, or more simply ‘where’, is fundamental to decision making in public policy, business and by the citizen; the move to common public sector frameworks to better obtain, use and share location information can only be welcomed by increasingly financially-constrained organisations. Author: Chris Holcroft is the Director of the Association of Geographic Information (AGI), the independent UK membership organisation serving all with an interest in ‘Location’. He is also a member of the UK Location Council. The views expressed here are his own and do not necessarily reflect that of AGI or the UK Location Council. Website: www.agi.org.uk
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |151|
Energy & Utility Skills helping plug the skills gap By Tim Balcon, Chief Executive of Energy & Utility Skills, the Sector Skills Council for gas, power, waste management and water industries. The skills gap has been at the heart of the recent election debates and is a key focus point for the new coalition Government. It is true that the UK is suffering from abnormally high unemployment figures and changes need to take place in order to ensure we do not see a repeat of the 1930s. These recent unemployment figures show that one in five young people are out of work. It is more essential than ever to make sure young people leaving education are doing so with a set of skills that reflect the needs of the industry. Energy & Utility Skills (EU Skills) was set up in 2003 with this in mind. As the Sector Skills Council for gas, power, waste management and water industries, we develop skills and qualifications in order to specifically drive the growth of the energy and utility industry forward; part of this role is to work with training providers from all areas to ensure they are delivering the right training for employers. Even with 405,000 individuals currently working in the energy and utility industry in this country, there is still a great demand for highly-skilled employees. The long overdue recovery of the economy however, means that in order for it to burgeon, the skills created need to be aligned with those that are lacking. As more jobs are created, it is important that we have the correct skills to fill these positions so as to carry us forward and bridge the current skills gap. It is also important that in order to assist employers to get the right people with the right skills we need the right training provision at the right quality and also in the right locations. In order to kick start this, EU Skills is throwing its weight behind building strong foundations for the future for their employers by upskilling their industry. A recent CBI survey has highlighted the now critical need for an increasingly skilled workforce, finding that over 70% of employers questioned want action to improve the employability skills of school leavers. As an employer-led organisation, EU Skills recognises the needs of its employers and ensures qualifications and skills development pathways meet the needs of their industries, providing employers of all sizes with the right skills to support the success of their businesses. By working with employers to increase the number of Apprenticeships, EU Skills is bringing talent to the sector and increasing training capacity across the industry, including collaborative training for specialist roles. The focus on technical upskilling and higher level skills development is key. One of the projects that we have been working on recently has resulted in the launch of the first-ever Apprenticeship in Sustainable Resource Management. The Apprenticeship in Sustainable Resource Management will underpin |152| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The Graduate School of the Environment (GSE) offers a range of inspirational post-graduate programmes. A unique combination of leading professionals, academics and authors create innovative solutions at Europe’s leading environmental centre. GSE offers four full post-graduate programmes in conjunction with the University of East London MSc Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies MSc Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies by Distance Learning MSc Renewable Energy and the Built Environment Professional Diploma in Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies The following programme is run in collaboration with University of Wales Institute Cardiff. Professional Doctorate (Doctor of Ecological Building Practices) For more details on any of our courses visit
www.cat.org.uk/graduateschool
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |153|
occupational roles in the collection, transport, treatment and final management of waste and recyclables at both operator and supervisory levels. We have worked in close partnership with employers and stakeholders to understand the Apprenticeship requirements for the waste management industry. This bespoke Apprenticeship programme follows a significant consultation process to ensure a high quality, fit for purpose Apprenticeship is developed. This will benefit learners, employers and the industry as a whole, by providing a clear career pathway and addresses workforce development needs. As the new Government takes shape and new targets and budgets are being drawn up, now is the time for the industry to make its case in terms of educating and upskilling the future workforce. EU Skills is well-equipped to do this with skill-based training programmes, maximising investment opportunities for the sector and acting as a key link to build a wider intelligence understanding of all four industries. It is important for us to understand these skills gaps and work with employers and training providers to help plug them but there is also a job to be done to make sure that people understand that there is a good career available to them within the energy and utilities industries. It is quite common for young people to think of these job roles as dirty and for the sector to be quite invisible to people when they are making their career choices.
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All hope is not lost. I do believe there is still light at the end of the tunnel. As more money and more emphasis is placed on the importance of sustainability and alternative energy, and new innovative ways to reduce emissions, the hope is that the sector will become more appealing and ‘important’. My want for the future would be to place careers such as marine engineers on a par with city traders and lawyers. I would like the preconceptions of the energy and power industry to be expelled and for people to realise the potential for growth it holds. In order for this to happen, all employers, whether sole traders or multinational corporations, must form alliance and communicate as to what they want and need from the growing numbers of talented and enthusiastic individuals who will inevitably make up the future workforce. Our world is continually changing; we need more skills than ever if we want our economy to thrive. Our research shows us that in less than 10 years there will be very few unskilled jobs; we must keep up with this and provide the necessary skills required so as to propel our economy forward, plug that skills gap and ensure that our industries have the skills they need now and in the future; we aim to provide employers with the means to achieve this. To find out further information on how EU Skills can work with you then please visit our website; www. euskills.co.uk
Summit Skills publishes environment strategy SummitSkills, the Sector Skills Council for the building services engineering sector, has published its strategy for environmental technologies. The document outlines how SummitSkills will work on behalf of the sector to capture and exploit opportunities to help the UK move towards a low-carbon future. The green economy is increasingly in the news agenda and is seen by Government as an area of significant growth. With the pressure mounting, such growth should be supported, particularly in the face of current economic uncertainty and global competition. Nigel Hollett, Head of Environmental Technologies, said “Concerns about climate change and the security of energy supplies are being matched by incentives to increase the uptake of environmental and renewable technologies. SummitSkills believes that with these economic foundations, the market can develop quickly and provide an excellent opportunity for building services engineering to benefit.” Building on the progress already made in environmental technologies, SummitSkills has identified five key areas of work to ensure the sector is able to meet demand: 1) Provide visionary and practical leadership to the sector. The key to realising and maximising potential and support the achievement of the UK targets is an appropriately skilled workforce. As a Sector Skills Council, SummitSkills will provide the leadership to achieve the vision for the sector. 2) Integration of environmental technologies into the sector. With Government aims for sustainable growth, there will be a growing demand to integrate renewable energy sources into building services and new builds. SummitSkills will undertake the necessary work to fully integrate environmental technologies into the sector. 3) Sector engagement to encourage employers and employees to engage with environmental technologies. Businesses and workers in the sector have significant influence over client decisions in terms of product and technology. Engagement with environmental technologies offers significant commercial opportunities for the growth and profitability of the sector. 4) Access to relevant and high quality training to ensure sector businesses and workers undertake industry recognised training and qualifications. Government schemes, such as the Microgeneration Certification Scheme, require minimum levels of technical competence, making it vital that the relevant training is available to ensure businesses and workers can participate in such schemes. 5) Forging effective partnerships to deliver these objectives. Addressing the issues of climate change, sustainability and resource conservation is a huge task that will involve all sectors, businesses and individuals. SummitSkills’ work will include a partnership approach and collaboration to achieve a greater benefit and impact.
The Strategy for Environmental Technologies in the Building Services Engineering Sector is available in both English and Welsh on the SummitSkills website www.summitskills.org.uk
Sustainable Growth Company We advise and support top management on sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Our solutions are focused on competitive advantage, building commitment, compliance, the development of competencies and the effective use of systems and IT. SGC presents sustainability training according to client requirements including the IEMA 5-day EMS Lead Auditor Course. Unlike most other courses of this type, all our audit courses feature a real audit of a facility. The course dates include: • 15-19 November in London • 6-10 December in Dubai • 24-29 January Aberdeen • 21-25 February London
Our other services include: • Environmental and sustainability review and audit services • Management system development • Product life cycle assessment • Ethical trading • Sustainability and carbon reporting • Ecological and Carbon Footprint • System and compliance audits. Join us at www.emsnetwork.com at the beginning of November for free EMS tools and support. Web: www.sustainablegrowth.co.uk Email: ted.rosser@sustainablegrowth.co.uk Tel: 01484 681796 ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |155|
As this is the last issue of Environment Industry Magazine to come out before December we thought we would provide you a very unseasonal reminder of the impending season of goodwill. You may think that October is the wrong time to offer you our eco Christmas gift guide but I assure you these products will be flying off the shelves this year and we feel duty bound to ensure that on the big day your loved ones are in receipt of THE Christmas gift of the year and not asking for the receipt and planning a boxing day trip to the returns counter. Here is a selection of the best eco gadgets of the season. The Nature Cameras Bird Box and Camera Kit. According to the Royal Geographical Society the ‘Springwatch’ factor is hatching a new generation of wildlife enthusiasts. Springwatch, Coast and Countryfile programmes have inspired thousands of people to get out into the countryside to see animals ‘in the fur’. One of the rarest privileges in the natural world is to get a glimpse into a birds nest, to see a clutch of eggs or a row of gaping mouths waiting to be fed. This kit gives you that privilege and more, from the comfort of your own sofa. The nesting box is beautifully constructed and fitted with a wireless colour* infrared camera. It is simplicity itself to set up, fix the bird box to a suitable surface outside using the pre drilled holes, plug it in to the mains and connect the receiver to your TV and away you go.... with a little luck a pair of birds will soon set up home in the box and you will be treated to a bird’s eye view of the ensuing drama of feathered family life. (*there is rarely enough light for the camera to work in colour and most of the time you will see a black and white image) Cedar Bird Box with Wireless Infrared Camera £149.00inc Delivery - Available from www. naturescamera.co.uk Tefal Actifry This is a fantastic product designed to revolutionise deep fat frying. Strictly speaking deep fat fryers are not generally considered to be eco friendly unless you are converting the used oil into biofuel. But by reducing the oil consumption to 1 table spoon the Tefal Actifry instantly joins the ranks of environmental products. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first used this product but having lived with one for about a month now I can’t see myself without one. Firstly it produces the best crispy chips you have ever tasted and they are really healthy. Secondly as it uses such a small amount of oil and it cooks essentially by air blown over a hot element (much like a powerful hairdryer) there is no risk of combustion or spillage making this product safe as well a green. Finally, despite first appearances it is versatile too, as the boom in the pan is constantly turning essentially stirring the contents it prevents things from sticking to the pan, I have used mine for cooking all kinds of things, use your imagination or just enjoy the crispiest chips ever. Tefal Actify - £135-00 - Available from www.amazon.com ECO CAMEL Showerhead The battle for Water conservation has an ally. The EcoCamel showerhead, is a genuinely innovative product which not only improves your showering experience by increasing the pressure of the water, it can also save 40% on water usage in the shower. LD Lines Ferries installed 160 EcoCamel aerated showerheads and 250 EcoCamel tap aerators/flow regulators throughout the 85 cabins, 70 crew quarters and 1 galley. As less water needed to be heated, the EcoCamel water and energy saving equipment reduced the ferry’s overall energy consumption by a staggering 1 metric tonne per day, further boosting LD Lines’ bottom line. Astonishingly by carrying less water the Norman Spirit Ferry was also able to take an extra 40 tonne lorry onboard. The best gift is one that keeps giving and the EcoCamel Showerhead will give you savings for years to come! Ecocamel Cobra Shower Head - £29.95 available at www.ecocamel.com |156| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Dyson- DC31 Dyson isn’t happy with reinventing the washing machine, the desk fan, hand dryer and vacuum cleaner. Dyson have become renowned for taking an original concept which we the public are quite convinced is perfectly adequate for the job in hand and showing us just how flawed the original was and how much better theirs it. A prime example is the office fan verses the Dyson bladeless fans, what kind of leap of genius or insanity thinks that a fan with no blades is the way forward? Another example is the handheld vacuum cleaner. Dyson have managed to squeeze all the technology of the Dyson upright cleaner into a product the size of a puppy. (Not quite as cute but not far off). The DC31 is Powerful but portable, it is perfect for small cleaning tasks around the home or in a car, boat or caravan. The DC31 gives you 10 minutes of constant suction and only takes a further 10 minutes to recharge. Thanks to its Dyson digital motor V2, the DC31 is more energy efficient than other handheld motors making it an ideal candidate for this eco Christmas guide. DC31 £139.99 available on Dyson.co.uk Breville Hot Cup Rarely do kitchen appliances hit the target for the boy’s toys market place, but Breville have developed the ideal product for the FHM generation. The Hot Cup variable kettle is the Aston Martin equivalent in the appliance industry. What an amazing kettle, upon taking the Hot Cup out of the box you are struck by its solidity, it feels robust. The styling is exquisite with gleaming chromed and shiney black surfaces. The lid closes with a satisfying clunk and when you switch it on the water tank is illuminated with an electric blue light. The kettle allows the user to vary the amount of water dispensed using a dial. Once set at the required level the One Cup takes 20 seconds to fill one mug with boiling hot water. Environmentally it is one of the most energy efficient kettles; it only boils enough water for One Cup at a time. Also there are no filters to replace which adds to the environmental credentials. This is one of the most stylish and efficient kettles on the market, no longer will you boil an entire kettle of water for one cup of tea. Breville Hot Cup with Variable Dispense - £64.99 - Available from Argos Cheese board Last year at the Manchester Christmas Markets I came across a small stall selling one the best eco products I have ever seen, I immediately purchased one and promised that if I ever ran a gift guide in Environment Industry Magazine I would include it. Sarah Hill is a Contemporary Glass Jewellery designer and I assume that during a moment of boredom or just plain inquisitiveness placed a glass bottle in the kiln to see what would happen (I have done similar things with eggs and microwaves but without the saleable results). What came out was a perfectly flat bottle which seemed to lend itself perfectly as a cheese board. Sarah has gone on to produce these in a full range of sizes and colours and even offers client a bespoke service where she will “recycle” bottles with sentimental value, such as special celebration Champagne bottles or those unique holiday spirit bottles. I personally am a big fan of her work and recommend you look at her website for more fabulous gift ideas. The cheese plate from £24.99 at www.sarahhilljewellery.com SodaStream I loved SodaStream when I was a kid, my family never owned one but I had some friends who did, the highlight of the week was being allow to go round to play and being able making your own pop when you were thirsty. That nostalgia was still there when the review sample arrived on my desk recently. Apart from the obvious contemporary styling and the new array of flavours, the SodaStream is the same as it ever was, and I immediately “got busy with the fizzy!” I was also wondering what eco credentials it had to justify it being included in this eco product guide; surely they aren’t using recycled plastic or suggesting they are involved in Carbon sequestration? It turns out that the SodaStream helps make reductions in plastic waste, SodaStream reuses one plastic bottle for up to three years, saving the average family up to 1,200 one-litre PET plastic bottles. In addition SodaStream drinks are transported as concentrates rather than as ready-diluted drinks, helping to reduce food miles and packaging. Therefore a worthy addition to the green Christmas list! SodaStream Jet 60 Litre Drinks Maker £49.99 available at Argos ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |157|
CASE STUDY
Experiences In The Recycling Of CDE Waste Streams. Simon Ingleby, of design consultancy Alfatek UK, writes of experiences gained building recycling facilities with Dutch equipment manufacturer Redox. Abbreviations were once a shortening of a latin phrase that few would understand in full, however new ones are emerging quicker than my teenage son’s text speak. Thus, in our industry, humble C&D waste has now become CDE (not to be confused with health and safety CDE regulations that must be adhered to when building a new facility to recycle the aforementioned CDE waste streams). Let us just call it skip waste! A good client of ours has a favourite phrase, “the most consistent thing about waste is its inconsistency”. So plant design has to incorporate robustness with flexibility of use to maximise recycling performance. I shall explain here our concept of an efficient sorting line using Redox equipment, also observations of other methods and equipment commonly used. Firstly, to delve into a ‘typical’ skip, to analyse its inconsistency. We generally find the following:-
Density
by Weight
by Vol
Soils/fines
0.62
10%
8%
Aggs 5-20
1.13
10%
4%
Aggs 20-50
1.13
10%
4%
Aggs 50-200
1.13
15%
7%
Aggs 200+
1.21
17%
7%
Wood A+B
0.5
14%
14%
Hard Plastics/ PVC
0.2
1%
2%
Soft plastics/ card
0.1
8%
38%
Ferrous
3.0
5%
1%
Non-ferrous/ cable
2.0
1%
0%
Residues/ organics
0.3
7%
13%
Pre-sort o/ 0.5 2% size |158| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
2%
Input method at the start of the line is the most important part. The line has to be fed, or dosed, in a uniform manner to give the equipment any chance of operating efficiently. several methods have been observed namely: Vibrating Pan Feeders – these tend to have small capacity and rely on the density of the waste causing an inconsistent feed rate. Surprisingly, the table can get blinded up by fines causing blockages. Finger Screens – we have seen too many of these fed directly again causing an inconsistent feed rate into the line. They only screen effectively at the direct point of loading (approx 1sqm); the fines are then carried along with the bulky material without being released. When overloaded they are difficult to clear. Better when fed by a dosing belt but they need to be huge with large drop steps to be effective. Deposit Hopper – our preferred method, with a large capacity hopper giving two to three bucket loads at one time, slow moving dosing belt with impact rollers and a levelling bridge feeding to a fast moving conveyor to give consistent volume rate. The dosing belt can have remote speed adjustment to regulate the flow. Conveyors – avoid chevron belts, expensive to maintain, difficult to repair and blocked up by fines. Keep to plain belts with high sides, invest in quality belt scrapers and keep below 19 degrees inclination. Smooth transfer points with no sharp edges for tape to hook on is essential. Consider making no-go areas under conveyors rather than boxing in for health and safety. Primary screening requires good throughput to maintain the capacity required to keep a modern plant investment cost effective. The finger screen has been described above, we have not seen these being effective in mixed waste situations. Trommels – we have seen too often the trommel screen being used to poor effect. Try to screen too small in the primary role and the throughput and efficiency is poor. Fines are carried over and the screen can blind in poor weather. Mechanical
damage of lightweight removable screen meshes is common.
jet filters that also double as dust management devices. Air is recirculated to the fan for energy efficiency.
Inclined trommels run the heavy fractions too quick whilst the lighter, bulky waste dwells in the barrel wrapping itself up tighter and tighter until it plops out like a giant sausage, usually lodging in the discharge conveyor.
The heavy oversize fraction is conveyed via the impact belt. Located at the end transfer point is an overband magnet. This runs in the direction of the impact belt, separating the ferrous material as it falls off the end of the belt. This is much more effective than running across the material stream belt and minimises damage to the belt however, don’t forget to install a stainless steel end drum to the conveyor as the overband field can induce magnetism into the surrounding infastructure, causing ferrous hang-ups. A stainless steel chute directs the ferrous into a container below.
Chain drives require constant maintenance. Experience with the Redox lines show best results from a purpose built Trommel with a horizontal, solid body of 15mm thickness combined with a strong heliptical auger to drive the waste through. Screen at 150mm for optimum throughput and rotate the Trommel with direct driven solid rubber wheels. Make sure that there is a solid breaker bar for long-parts penetrating through. A diameter of 2.5 or 3 metres ensures that the feed conveyor can extend into the mouth and set the speed, so that the material has a tumbling action within the trommel to open it up to effective screening. By only course screening in the first instance, the length of the trommel can be kept to a minimum, say 6 metres. 3-4 years and in excess of 0.5million tonnes is achievable with one trommel body. The oversize fraction (150+) leaves the trommel via a conveyor. At this point there is too much volume to go straight into a picking station. Separation of light, bulky waste from the heavy has to take place. We have seen plenty of crude blowers with little or no adjustability, also suction systems that use huge power hungry fans, inefficient cyclones with rotary valves that get blocked so easily. We have an analogy that says, ‘have you ever tried to suck out a candle’?
The heavy oversize fraction would at this point now contain aggregates, wood, hard plastics, non-ferrous materials, batteries etc and residue (or unrecyclable). This now passes into a manual picking station. For efficient hand picking, make the cabin safe and comfortable. Insulated wall panels, positive pressurisation to prevent dust ingress, a flat picking belt table and low level heaters are incorporated. Other features would include having pneumatically-operated sealing flaps on the drop hoppers to not only prevent dust and noise coming through the holes where the picked waste goes out but to also act as a quality control or a place to store a separate recyclate. Keep the flap closed, call over the front loader who places his bucket below, open the door and drop. This keeps that material separate from the bay below and maximises space.
The Windshifter is a simple but effective machine to achieve this split. The material is brought onto a wide conveyor. At the end of the conveyor the material falls through a highly controllable blown airstream. The heavy items fall through to an impact belt conveyor, duly built to absorb the energy of the falling items. This is kept short as it has to withstand the greatest attrition, thus will be replaced more often. The lighter fractions are blown over a separation drum that assists mechanically to remove certain parts. Due to the volume of air blown and the venturi effect at the conveyor end, negative pressure has to be maintained in the light separation hood. This is achieved with reverse ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |159|
cost is up but the payback is faster. After a negative pick, the recyclates (wood, hard plastics etc) are picked from the product; the clean 150+ aggregates fall off the end into a storage bay. This is usually sent for crushing and grading. A typical 100cum/ hr facility would have 4/5 men in this cabin. Make one person responsible and give them control through a slave panel to operate the plant with remote stop/start and speed controls. The fraction 0-150 from the Trommel screen can be separated and cleaned automatically. It is conveyed via a long part separator (removing long wood parts), an overband magnet (to remove ferrous metals) and onward to the next screen. We have found that the most efficient and compact screen for this quantity of fraction to be a single unit comprising a solid vibrating top deck with flexible stretch-deck screen on the bottom. The flexible screen mats stretch and flex alternately, thus working sticky material and keeping the screen mesh open. This screen cuts the 0-150 material to 0-20, 20-50 and 50-150. The 20-50 and 50-150 fractions are conveyed to a Windshifter for automatic cleaning. The two fractions enter a double lane Windshifter. This machine uses an adjustable blown airstream to separate light parts from heavy and to remove the contamination from the aggregate. There is however, some long parts of wood and plastic that cannot be removed by airstream alone, therefore installed within is a separation drum to remove these parts mechanically. Each fraction is treated separately. The 20-50 clean recyclate (secondary aggregates) exits beneath the windshifter and is conveyed to stockpile. The windshifter can be adjusted to thoroughly clean the recyclate to exacting specifications. The 50-150 is cleaned in this pass to remove paper and light contamination only. This light fraction can go for further processing for use as SRF (solid recovered fuel, formally known as RDF but here we go with those abbreviations again). The 50-150 heavy fraction is then conveyed to a single vibrating table Windshifter for further automatic cleaning. Wood and residues are removed here. Again, the blown air is filtered and returned back to the fans for emission control and energy efficiency. Even after windshifter treatment, the 50-150 clean aggregates can still include a trace of brass taps, batteries and the occasional pallet corner block. Run this past a one-man quality control picking point to ensure parity. Again, the key is to process step by step and not treating too wide a fraction range at any one machine. Capital |160| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
The fraction 0-20mm can be further processed with a single Stretch-Deck Screen and Windshifter. This screen was developed originally for the coal industry some 25 years ago and comprises flexible mats that stretch and flex alternately. Thus sticky fine waste can be cut down to 0-5mm fines and 5-20mm fraction comprising predominantly small stones, glass and ceramics with contamination. This is removed at the Windshifter separating the light ‘fluff’ to a container, again ideal SRF possibility. The clean 5-20 can be used as secondary aggregates in utilities bedding, road making and if rinsed, for use in secondary concrete applications’. On C&D waste streams it is possible to recover 98% by weight to maximize product recycling. Phase your investment by ensuring that a plant is modular and can be added to at a later date. High-Tech equipment such as optical identification, eddy current separators and induction loop detectors are becoming more cost-effective now and should be considered if looking to expand the sorting line into commercial waste streams also. A good plant design can handle both waste streams. Don’t overlook other high-tech gizmos like number plate recognition at the weighbridge, automatic digital photo tagging at the tipping area and site dust management. Last, but not least, consider the power requirements of the plant. Energy costs are just like the waste itself, consistent with its inconsistency. Simon Ingleby, Alfatek UK ingleby@alfatek.karoo.co.uk
The right start: prioritising resource efficiency David Lancaster, Food and Drink Business Manager, explains how efficiency can result in bottom line savings The benefits of renewable energy generation are perfectly apparent and the incentives to adopt these technologies with the introduction of the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) now make the opportunities even more commercially attractive. However, the starting point for businesses considering renewable energy generation has got to be to look at the opportunities to reduce overall energy usage through improved energy efficiency. After all, the advantage of investing in expensive facilities, like wind turbines and solar panelling, is lost if electricity is systematically lost through inefficiencies. And there are very few un-assessed energy systems where savings – as much as 10-20% in ADAS’ experience – cannot be made through the adoption of both no cost and low cost interventions. The obvious driver for the adoption of reduced energy consumption is the rising and more volatile costs of both electricity and gas. In energy intensive businesses, this is already a hugely worrying cost and all the indications suggest that prices will continue increasing – perhaps by as much as a quarter within the next decade. It is these sorts of price rises that could start affecting the viability of some businesses, especially if they have a significant process or manufacturing element to their operations. However it is not the only driver. Sound environmental credentials are important to growing numbers of businesses keen to demonstrate to their customers and stakeholders that they are acting as responsible companies. Where to start? Establishing a baseline of current energy consumption is a crucial first step, both for understanding usage patterns and for subsequent monitoring. Obviously implementing the interventions that carry little or no cost implications are a logical next step – turning off unused machines and lights, reducing heat use and assessing work flow patterns and so on – a step which many companies have already taken. For these measures to be successful, however, the buy-in of employees needs to be fostered as their input will be crucial to the success of these initial energy reduction measures. From here, though, many businesses will require a more detailed technical analysis of energy consumption to identify the next, more challenging stage of energy savings.
CASE STUDY
Mapping ‘hidden energy savings’ It is here where ADAS has seen a significant rise in demand for its energy mapping and sub-metering services – an innovative systems approach adopted from the automotive industry which can now be deployed across a range of sectors. It has been particularly useful among food processing and manufacturing sectors where the correlation between energy input and production unit costs is strong – for example chicken and milk processing operations. The mapping and sub-metering process is designed to highlight the hidden energy inefficiencies, like pumps working sub-optimally, or larger system inefficiencies, including compressors and refrigeration. It is only through the use of sub-metering and process analyses that a comprehensive Action Plan can be put in place to maximise energy savings. The argument for this extra step is compelling: while the recommendations might carry extra capital costs, the resultant savings could be up to 20% of total energy requirements, depending where the company is on its energy saving journey. When savings of this magnitude are realised, the opportunity to maximise the investment from the installation of renewable energy infrastructure – both in terms of using the electricity or selling it back to the National Grid becomes undeniable.
SUSTAINABILITY
Kitchen Range Foods proves resource efficiency makes good business sense
CASE STUDY
Sterecycle To Develop Biomass Generation at UK Waste Treatment Facilities Sterecycle is a UK waste treatment and renewable power company that uses patented autoclave technology to process household and commercial black bag waste. Since 2008, its Rotherham plant, which is the world’s first commercial autoclave waste treatment facility, has been providing Local Authorities and businesses with an alternative to landfill and a solution to the rising landfill tax by reducing the amount of waste they landfill by up to 70%. The plant currently processes waste at a rate of 100,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) but is currently expanding its capacity to 240,000tpa to facilitate the increase in demand from both Local Authority and trade customers. Following the completion of the expansion project in mid 2011, Sterecycle intends to add onsite generation in the form of a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and/or Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant. The company intends to integrate either CHP or AD cogeneration technology into all future Sterecycle facilities. The CHP and/or AD plants will be fuelled by Sterefibre, a biomass rich fibre that is
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Above: Autoclave technology in operation at Sterecycle’s Rotherham plant.
Above: Sterecycle’s waste treatment plant in Rotherham.
produced from the autoclave waste treatment process, which can be used as a fuel or in land reclamation. Sterecycle’s technology works by ‘pressure cooking’ the waste in autoclaves. Unsorted waste is loaded directly into large vessels and heat is applied at around 130°C. The steam, pressure and the rotation of the vessels breaks down the biodegradable element of the waste, turning it into free flowing compost-like material called Sterefibre, which is easily separated. The non-biodegradable waste, which has been sterilised, is then mechanically sorted - the recyclates are separated and sold on and the non-recyclables, which make up about 30% of the original input, are disposed of to landfill or by incineration. Sterefibre as a biomass fuel has undergone extensive trials which have confirmed its clean burning credentials: a low level of contaminants, its suitability for AD and a good calorific value. At its Rotherham plant, Sterecycle is considering both CHP and combining AD with CHP as options for onsite cogeneration. Planning approval for a CHP option has already been granted by the Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The company is in the process of submitting a second proposal for an AD plant with a smaller CHP alongside. If this second plan is also approved, the company will be able to decide which is the better option.
supply the waste treatment facility with all the electricity and steam it needs – around 2 to 3MW – and the rest will be exported to the grid. The energy will also qualify for renewable “green energy” subsidies such as ROCs (Renewable Obligation Certificates) and the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive. Sterecycle is considering entering into a joint venture with a technology leader to develop the plant and it is currently in discussions with potential partners. By constructing a biomass CHP facility alongside the waste treatment plant, Sterecycle provides a secure fuel supply with no additional haulage costs. Sterecycle has also received the necessary approvals from the Cardiff Council to construct an integrated 200,000tpa waste treatment and renewable energy facility near Cardiff. This facility is expected to be operational in 2012. Sterecycle has also purchased and acquired a land option for on two further sites and intends to have a total of six sites operational across the UK within the next five years. Sterecycle Rotherham has a Waste Contract with the Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham Waste Partnership and several commercial and industrial waste contracts. All images courtesy of KFremlin .
Both the CHP and the AD (with smaller CHP) have an estimated output of around 7 – 10MW. This energy will Sterecycle’s bio fuel ‘Sterefibre’.
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CASE STUDY
Is cork the future for buildings? Cork is one of the world’s most natural and traditional resources – and Alumasc believes this sustainable material could also represent the future for buildings requiring external wall insulation (EWI). The thermal and sustainable benefits of cork insulation were key in its specification for a social housing refurbishment scheme in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire – the first significant use of Cork EWI on social housing in the UK.
When cork insulation is used with Alumasc’s External Wall Insulation systems, the result is a high performance façade that offers all the benefits of an insulated render system but with enhanced environmental credentials. Managed by Aspire Housing Association, the 54 Cussins properties on the Staffordshire scheme were constructed after the Second World War to a non-traditional design with steel frames. Dan Gray, Head of Asset Management at Aspire Housing Association, explains: “The steel frames and panel systems of these post-war buildings required urgent |164| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
attention. We removed the panels, repaired the steel and fitted the cork insulation before applying a high standard render finish with brick detailing. The houses now look like brand new homes and meet a very high thermal standard, having moved from band D to band B in energy efficiency.” The engineers and project managers, Michael Dyson Associates Ltd, carried out initial surveys to determine the condition of the properties. They specified Alumasc’s Swisspan External Wall Insulation system with 50mm Cork panels, which is perfectly suited to non-traditional or problematic refurbishment applications. The Cork/Swisspan system has increased the homes’ energy efficiency levels to the required u-value of 0.35W/ m2K, creating a warmer, more attractive place for residents to live. Jeff Collett, Associate Director of Michael Dyson Associates Ltd, comments: “We have been taking a keen interest in the development of sustainable insulation for quite some time and were aware of cork’s potential. We considered a number of insulation materials for the Aspire homes and decided that Cork met the performance requirements as well as being the obvious sustainable choice.”
Sustainability As a sustainable and renewable source of insulation, cork is hard to beat. The cork bark is harvested when the cork oak tree reaches maturity at 25 years. In a healthy tree, 25-75mm of bark re-grows to be harvested again every nine years, which helps prolong the lifespan of the tree for up to 150 years. No chemicals or additives are used in its manufacture
and the process uses very low energy consumption. There is zero ozone depletion, zero global warming and cork has the lowest embodied energy of all commonly used insulation materials. A huge variety of indigenous wildlife is dependent upon the maintenance of the cork oak forests and its production helps stabilise rural economies, populations and local culture in the poorer agricultural areas of Southern Europe. David Cartwright, Environmental Champion with the project’s main contractors, Frank Haslam Milan (FHM), comments: “On the Aspire contract, the pre-construction team worked hard for solutions which would both improve the building fabric whilst considering their inherent environmental impacts. We favoured natural cork for its low carbon footprint properties, together with its excellent insulation value and sound transmission qualities.” Performance Cork is designated an A+ rating in the Green Guide to Specification for maximum benefit in BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes assessments. It can achieve thermal conductivity of 0.038W/m2k, while the airtight system guarantees low fluctuations of temperature, keeping the building warm in the colder months and cool on warmer days.
‘bounce’ in the raw cork panels, they received the dash render particularly well. Future Alumasc is currently the only supplier of Cork EWI in the UK and says that clients are rapidly beginning to seize on its benefits. Michael Dyson Associates has already specified Cork for another social housing scheme in Leicester. As pressure increases to choose more sustainable sources of EWI, Alumasc anticipates a significant increase in demand. Chris Lister, Development Manager at Alumasc comments: “We believe that cork is the future of building with natural insulation. It is a sustainable, long life, renewable product with good acoustic qualities and is free from artificial inputs. As an insulant, it saves energy and protects the environment, whilst complementing modern building techniques. When combined with Alumasc high performance renders, all the benefits of insulated render systems are achieved with the environmental benefits of using a natural product.”
Cork insulation can be used in conjunction with all Alumasc EWI systems, in particular the Swisspan and Swistherm systems. Swisspan is the recognised choice for upgrading social housing to meet the “decent homes standard”. It is ideal for overcladding existing properties where the possibilities for mechanical fixing are restricted to structural elements – typically structural frames with non load-bearing steel or concrete infill panels and non-traditional house types. For new build projects, Alumasc recommends the use of cork with its Swistherm system, which meets the highest levels of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Installation From an installation point of view, Cork can be simply bonded by adhesive or mechanically fixed and is easily cut to form curves or complex façade details. Once installed, it can be given a full range of surface treatments, from contemporary lightweight renders to polymeric and dashing finishes. Rob Knowles, of Transcast, Alumasc’s Approved Installer, adds: “Cork certainly stands up to its traditional counterparts in terms of installation – the project ran very smoothly and the Cork/Swisspan system was perfect for this particular property type.” Pat Berridge, also of Transcast, was responsible for the rendering process and comments: ”As a new product on the market, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the cork panels were to work with. We didn’t encounter any teething problems whatsoever and due, to the natural ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |165|
Jones Bros Completes New Multi-Million Pound Environmental Coastal Defence Scheme In Tywyn A new multi-million pound environmental coastal scheme to strengthen the sea defences in a flood-hit mid-Wales town is coming to a close as the beach opens up to residents and tourists. But far from breathing a collective sigh of relief – the townsfolk of Tywyn have admitted that they will actually miss the presence of civil engineering firm Jones Bros, who carried out the work on behalf of Gwynedd Council. The long-awaited scheme had turned the town’s beach frontage upside down since the beginning of the year but, far from being an irritation, the scheme has proved to be a model in excellent community relations. In fact the approach adopted by Jones Bros has proved so successful that, this summer the company received a declaration of thanks signed by 300 community members and visitors to the town. It was organised by Tommy Payne, a pensioner who set out on his motability scooter and collected the names within several hours. Tommy stressed that all the signatories were impressed by the professionalism and expertise of the Jones Bros workers. “These boys at Tywyn have been working so hard yet have remained friendly and accommodating throughout,” explained Tommy, who has a caravan nearby. “They realise there is a great deal of interest in this work and they have been more than willing to answer all of our questions. Tywyn beach has been
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transformed and countless people will enjoy this lovely resort for years to come.” He added: “We will miss having these fantastic people around but we say a sincere thank you for a job well done.” From the outset, Jones Bros vowed to consult with local people every step of the way. This has included the opening of a visitor centre laying out the plans, timescales and work schedules, regular update meetings with local residents, landowners, local businesses, schools and beach user groups and school visits to the site. Local people have followed the scheme carefully, with one retired couple filming the work to make a DVD, supported by Jones Bros, that is being sold locally to raise funds for the Wales Air Ambulance. A competition open to local school children to create a work of art depicting the scheme proved popular, with the winning school receiving hundreds of pounds worth of book tokens from Jones Bros. And when local boy Mikey Short made a cardboard construction of the diggers, he was invited down to the site to sit in a digger, learn more about the scheme and have his picture taken for the local newspaper. “Whenever people have come down here, our workers have given them the time and opportunity to ask as many questions as they like,” explained Dafydd Elis, Jones Bros Project Engineer.
“We recognised early on that this is a big deal for the people of Tywyn, with large sections of the beach closed at any one time. “We wanted to try to lessen the disruption for them as much as possible. We’ve also tried to respond quickly when any issues or concerns have arisen.” Even though the scheme required 24 hour delivery of rock for construction of the offshore breakwater, rather than prove a noisy neighbour, the operation attracted hundreds of spectators late at night to watch the ship discharge its load. The coastal improvement work was necessary due to severe storms over the past 100 years causing damage to the sea defences along the coastal front at Tywyn on the west Wales coast of Cardigan Bay. Since the 1930s emergency repairs have been carried out on many occasions and falling beach levels have increased the risk of undermining the sea walls with the potential of collapse. To prevent further erosion and damage to the town’s sea defences, Gwynedd Council began an extensive coastal defence project to reduce overtopping and undermining of the seawall and improve access and amenity of the beach for the local community, visitors and tourists. Jones Bros, who have worked on five similar sea defence projects at sites including the Isle of Wight and Southwold in Suffolk, won the contract to improve the depleted sea defences. The £7.6m Tywyn Coastal Defence Scheme is being funded by a combination of Welsh Assembly Government funding and ERDF Convergence funding from Europe. Work began on site in January with Gwynedd Council working closely with Jones Bros in the early stages of planning to take full advantage of the company’s expertise in the area and help the smooth running of the project. The scheme used more than 50,000 tonnes of rock, with 20,000 tonnes being sourced locally in North Wales, and the remainder coming from St Malo, France. In an effort to be as environmentally friendly as possible, approximately 40,000 tonnes of the rock was transported by sea to Tywyn rather than road. Jones Bros has also been very keen to minimise any effects of a potential pollution incident on the beach by replacing the hydraulic oils in all its machinery with biodegradable oils. The scheme has included: • A rock armour breakwater with beach nourishment (addition of new beach material)
• • • • •
Two rock groynes A rock revetment scheme Replacement of the timber groyne field Reconstruction or repair of the slipways and access steps, including the concrete steps along the length of the promenade Refurbishment of the promenade including the provision of a viewing platform
Founded in the 1950’s in Ruthin, North Wales, by brothers Glyn and Elwyn, the company remains a family firm with Glyn’s son Huw now at the helm. Today the company specialises in highways and infrastructure construction and improvements; energy projects including renewables; construction of waste management facilities and waste remediation projects; and flood and coastal protection projects. Jones Bros’ most significant project last year was a £20m contract to build the infrastructure for a 60-turbine wind farm in East Lothian for Fred Olsen Renewables. Other wind farm work included completion of Carno 2 in mid Wales and Tullo wind farm near Aberdeen. The firm also started the construction of the £35m Porthmadog bypass in a 50:50 joint venture partnership with Balfour Beatty. A UK wide operator, the company is going from strength to strength, recently reporting an expansion of almost one quarter, in defiance of the recession. In its annual report published in June, the company also reported turnover up 21% to £46.3m in the year to 31 March 2010. Profit before tax rose by 33% to £2m. www.jones-bros.com All images thanks to Outwrite PR
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FAMOUS LAST WORDS Dragons Den Survivor Martin Wadsworth offers his economic two’penneth.
Retro Fit for the Future? Will Labours GreenWash survive the economic meltdown?
Someone more famous and dead than me once quipped that the ‘road to ruin is paved with good intentions’, and one could be forgiven to apply such a moniker to the outgoing Labour Government. Many of the policies they introduced, both social and environmental, were well intentioned but if our children and our children’s children face a life of penury was it worth it? The impending cut backs seem inevitably to lead to questions over the viability of future promises. The Labour Government’s apparent drive for idealism and populism lead it into making some extra-ordinary commitments. No decision on nuclear power, wind farms on every hill, feed in tariffs the envy of Europe, and all ill thought out and apparently unfunded. Will they survive the coalitions austerity drive? What other choices do we have? A quick look at the figures makes sober reading. The proposed RHI (renewable heat initiative) proposes to reward home owners with very attractive incentives: Heat Pumps 7.5p per KwH for 18 years, BioDiesel Boilers 6.5p per kwH for 15 years, and solar thermal a wopping 18p per kwH for 20 years; all in all a total of 32p per Kwh. If the average house consumes 20,000 kwH per annum, and we the home owner saves say 50% of that, then the Government pay back will be 10,000 kwH x 0.32p = £3,200 per annum. If the total installed outlay is £15K, that’s a 5 year payback and then 13 years at £3k+ per annum. £40k per eligible household? When there’s talk of cutting the winter fuel allowance? The unpalatable truth is that as a nation we probably can’t afford it, and probably only the well-off would risk the £15K outlay to start with, so politically it could be a huge shot in the foot, rather than the envisaged one in the arm. So what should the Government be doing? With more than 26 million houses already built, the surest way of reducing our reliance on fossil fuel is to use less of it by improving the state of the nation’s housing insulation and heating costs, which accounts for more than 60% of their energy bills. The Government has started this with its Retrofit for the Future program, in which we are involved. DiscreteHeat and our ThermaSkirt heating system is one of the technologies chosen to work with heat pumps and solar in a number of projects undergoing evaluation. |168| ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
This hugely ambitious program involves massively improving the property with a variety of technologies including heat pumps, solar, external cladding, heat recovery and so on, and in a few instances, our heated skirting boards. Initial results are promising but total install costs of £150,000 per property for all this wizardry have been muted. With more than 8 million UK homes apparently in a state of disrepair and having ‘either none, or defective or inadequate central heating’, (Source; Keynote Report on UK Domestic Heating 2006), the size of the task is huge. If only 5% were brought up to date at a volume cost of £25,000 that’s a huge £10 billion for the Government. My suggestion? Scrap the VAT on proven energy saving technologies such as insulation, double glazing, gas condensing boilers, heat pumps and low circulation temperature heating systems (such as underfloor heating and thermal skirting like ours). This would have the double advantage of reducing the carbon footprint of the existing housing stock and creating employment as well, as many of the manufacturers and suppliers of the above are UK based. Any loss in VAT revenue would be more than offset in the tax revenues from companies and employees. The discrepancy in VAT rates-20% for refurbishment (from Jan 2011), 5% on change of use (assuming it stays) and 0% on new-build-really skews the market as many tired but structurally sound properties are bulldozed in favour of new-build. How green and environmentally friendly is that? With new-builds staggering along at 100,000 a year for the foreseeable future, no matter how air tight and insulated the Government forces the building regs, it’s a minnow compared to the bigger fish of the existing housing market in terms of carbon footprint reduction. So why not stimulate the economy, drive down Britain’s fuel bills and retain more affordable housing that’s old but already built for future generations? Come on George, give the UK Environmental Industry the real boost it deserves instead of complicated and unaffordable pay backs for the wealthy & newbuilds. How about a VAT break for the all the existing homeowners to get them on the green band wagon?
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