16/01/2013
'Sand and gravel extraction, waste management, landfill, methane extraction, sheep grazing and Nature Reserves; the activities of one company in Shropshire on a few hundred acres of land. An inspiring example of companys ingenuity in practicing sustainability'
As an environmental design and build company we are always looking for new ways in which we can improve the sustainability of our operations. An unavoidable output of the construction industry is waste, something that we address through waste minimisation decisions in the design process, in ordering materials, in the management of materials on site and the re-use or recycling of surplus. Yesterday we went for a field trip to see the Tudor Griffiths Group in operation at Wood Lane Ellesmere. What we saw fuelled ideas in ways we could improve waste management but also impressed upon us a model of sustainability in a seemingly exploitative industry.
Wood Lane houses the headquarters of the TG Group, a leading business in the supply of construction aggregrates, building supplies, waste management, electrical services, fuel and lubricant distribution; it also is a working sand and gravel pit and waste management site. The void left by the sand and gravel extraction is lined with a layer of clay, and then filled with non-hazardous waste. Before waste enters landfill it is sorted and materials that can be re-used or recycled such as wood, construction materials, PVC, metals are salvaged. These materials are re-worked and sold on; as a company we are looking at using much more recycled materials in our buildings, aggregates from this sorting process would be ideal, so that we minimise the amount of materials excavated. The remaining waste enters the landfill sites in thin layers, once packed full the landfill ‘cell’ is sealed with a layer of clay and returned to agricultural land which is grazed by the company’s livestock.
But that is not the end of it! Boreholes in the landfill cells extract methane gas (a product of waste decomposition), this gas is neutralised, a subset of which runs the recycling centre and a portion of which is fed into the national grid. On the other side of the site, away from the main activity, disused parts of the quarry have been developed alongside agricultural land as part of a nature and recreational conservation area. During the extraction process, the raw material is washed to remove the unwanted silt and clay, this water is pumped to a disused part of the quarry where it is left to settle. What is left is a clay-based product which has been used in the landscaping of these pools and marshes. TG Group is in partnership with Shropshire Wildlife Trust in the development of part of the site as a nature reserve; established species include rare varieties of orchid such as the bee orchid and the pyramid orchid. The shallow waters also provide habitats for wading birds that are not supported by the local lakes in Ellesmere; it is one of the best curlew roosting sites in Shropshire. The site has two large viewing hides, a key vantage point of the benefit of visitors and which hosts its education capacity (around 60 school visits a year!). The Tudor Griffiths Group has been awarded first prize for ‘Conservation and Community Involvement’, and rightly so, as a zoologist it has been a refreshing and inspiring sight to see the proactivity and the flair in practicing sustainability within industry. Inspiration that will go into continue to improve Ty Afal’s environmentally driven approach to construction.
