The floods earlier this summer damaged the embankment at Waleswood in South Yorkshire
Delivering green and cost effective solutions
The excellent working relationship between May Gurney, Network Rail and the Environment Agency (EA) has avoided a potential £3m cost and resulted in 50,000 tonnes of slip material being recycled.
When the floods earlier this summer washed out a rail embankment at Waleswood in South Yorkshire, it left the track in mid air and the slip in a nearby stream.
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The contaminated slip was washed into a nearby stream |
To make matters worse, initial tests showed the slip material to be highly contaminated and therefore classified as hazardous waste. As the stream runs into the River Rother, containing the contamination was crucial. May Gurney's environment team rapidly installed booms, initiated a water-testing regime and contacted the EA, who were very impressed with the work already carried out.
The options for disposing of the contaminated material, calculated to be 50,000 tonnes, were discussed with the EA. At £100 per tonne, the potential removal costs topped £3m.
"Please pass on my thanks to your team...their contribution was a key factor in overcoming the environmental challenges"
Robert Lowery, Network Rail |
Further testing was undertaken to establish the full spectrum of the waste, which subsequently proved money well spent. When the EA came for a final site meeting on 21 August, it was agreed that the waste could, under these circumstances, be classed as non-hazardous.
Since then, between 10% and 20% has been sold and the remainder taken away FOC for landscaping on a local golf course - all with EA approval.
Robert Lowery, Network Rail, said afterwards: "Please pass on my thanks to your team for their efforts at Waleswood. Their contribution was a key factor in overcoming the environmental challenges, which can all too easily get overlooked in the race against time to reopen a closed railway.
 "It has potentially saved us a lot of money and recycled thousands of tonnes of material."
Malcolm Duffield, Director Engineering and Project Services (EPS), added: "At home and in the office the environment is about splitting waste into grey and green bins and turning off the light when leaving a room.
"On site, however, most of the work carried out by our environment team goes on behind the scenes, dealing with regulations and environmental law - to make sure that as a company we are not only compliant, but innovative, and that we save our customers unnecessary cost."
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