OST
light industrial development on the aban- Envirolink Northwest – working in partner- higher than the cost of disposal – especially
doned Royal Munitions Ordinance facility in ship with BAE Systems and WRAP – calculat- once the value of wasted materials and labour
Chorley, North-west England. The project ed that to manufacture one tonne of soil are taken into account – and the reduced
involved removing topsoil from the site in by reusing and mixing existing on site necessity to purchase raw material, itself
a “confidence scrape” designed to eliminate materials with PAS100 compost cost steadily increasing in price.
the risk of residual munitions that may exist £5.08 compared with the combined cost of The level of cost savings on offer through
within the soil. £15.07 for landfill disposal and importing a the use of compost in these varying applica-
But this resulted in a deficiency of topsoil tonne of topsoil. Envirolink estimated tions can have a dramatic impact on a project’s
on site, and BAE Systems chose to import that, through the use of quality compost, overall budget, particularly in an industry
PAS100 compost in order to manufacture pre- BAE Systems could save in excess of £300,000 where margins are tight. As the economic
mium grade topsoil on-site by mixing the on the project. climate continues to exert pressure on the
compost with sandy clay loam subsoil. Environmental considerations aside, the bottom line, cost saving opportunities are
Almost 37,000 tonnes of newly manufactured financial case is clear. The disposal of waste is hard to ignore.
topsoil was then spread across nine hectares to now a significant and growing expense and in
promote the establishment of species, rich some regeneration schemes this cost could Paul Mathers is programme manager for
amenity grassland and wooded areas. escalate considerably as contaminated topsoil landscape and regeneration at WRAP.
The results were positive. The compost often needs to be sent to a limited number of For more information on the use of quality
was able to support the healthy establishment specialist landfill sites. Consider also that the compost call 01295 817899 or visit
of green areas, and it delivered cost savings. true cost of waste can be more than ten times w www.wrap.org.uk/composting
Sustainable Business 29❘ June 2009
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36