WASTE MANAGEMENT & RECYCLING
technology and out-of-the- box thinking
have resulted in a number of companies
who offer comparable levels of protection,
but at a fraction of the cost. One of these is
Environmental Innovations Limited, a UK
based company that design, manufacture
and install a range of patented low cost
containment products that convert your
drainage system into a high capacity
storage vessel for both spills and firewater.
Most of their products do not require
expensive civil work and can be installed
and maintained in minutes from above
ground. The systems can be fully
automated to provide 24 hour 365 day
protection.
These fully automated systems can be
easily integrated to work in tandem with
IS YOUR BUSINESS RUNNING
ON LUCK OR BEST PRACTICE?
t’s easy to think that environmental that its insurance company refused to cover. existing alarm systems. The system can also
I
consciousness is a relatively new It’s also worth remembering that fire water be configured to notify emergency services
concept however, as far back as contamination isn’t the exclusive result of and key staff by text or voice mail,
1388 a UK law was passed that Fire Service action, a faulty automatic preventing the nightmare scenario of
made it illegal to dump animal sprinkler system can cause similar returning to a site after a Bank Holiday
waste, dung or litter into ditches and environmental damage. weekend to find that an incident has
rivers. Sadly over 600 years later we still There is also mounting peer pressure escalated into a disaster. Brian Back, the
have pollution problems and still require amongst companies to obtain ISO14001 company’s Chairman, a Chartered
legislation to try and combat it. accreditation. Without evidence of an Engineer himself says “as well as providing
The newest European Directive ELD effective safety strategy for fire water containment solutions, we feel that we have
2004/35/EC, goes much further than containment even desk based businesses a duty of care to help inform companies of
fining the offender a few Groats, the will not attain it. Those that already have their legal obligations regarding
‘Polluter Pays Principle’ has sweeping an ISO14001 Certificate will find that they environmental pollution. To that end we are
powers that can inflict unlimited fines and may not pass their annual audit if they fail trying to work together with the industry
even imprison negligent Directors. to demonstrate a flexibility and willingness bodies and the trade press to improve
Companies who adopt a ‘fingers crossed’ to implement improvements to their systems awareness by offering free site surveys and
stance or simply attempt to tick a few as regulations and expectations tighten. to run small scale presentations.”
Health and Safety boxes without any real Of course it’s not just fear of fines David Cole, the company’s Managing
understanding of their moral and legal which should be the motivation behind a Director and Inventor behind the
obligations are walking a very dangerous responsible and effective containment technology says ‘we have a number of
path. A major misconception is that it’s only policy but the fact that a single spill or fire companies who say that our drain
companies who deal with toxic chemicals can have irreversible consequences for containment systems have prevented
that need to worry. A cup full of diesel can local rivers, plants and wildlife. Look no numerous spills from entering the water
contaminate a million gallons of water and further than October’s River Trent incident system in the first year of installation alone.
a spillage of milk can have devastating where cyanide and raw sewage killed Spills and fires are a daily threat and
consequences for fish and other wildlife as thousands of fish and threatened the entire accidents can’t be prevented. Now it is
it strips oxygen from the water. Even benign 280km stretch of river. The Environment possible to contain them for a fraction of
materials can become dangerous pollutants Agency, as always were quick to investigate the potential fine, let alone the remediation
in the event of a fire. The Fire Services are and advances in forensic technology now cost on top. We thrive on solving problems
responsible for the extinguishing of a fire, make it relatively simple to trace the source and welcome the challenge to build
but it’s the site owner who is solely of the pollution back to it’s origin, so it’s bespoke solutions.”
answerable for any contamination caused unlikely to be very long before the polluter In conclusion, it’s worth remembering
as a result of the fire water run-off. pays. that the ‘polluter’ doesn’t have to be
Numerous companies have discovered, to There is no disputing that the bill for knowingly negligent to receive a fine, and
their horror that their existing public liability bunding a site can be substantial, it’s it’s the impact and effect of the
insurance doesn’t always cover them for the therefore understandable, especially in the contamination which will determine the cost
cost of the cleaning up. In May 2003, a current economic environment for of the clean-up and severity of the fine, not
large fire at a relatively small chemicals companies to try and weigh up the risk of the size of the polluter’s balance sheet!
packing company in East Yorkshire left the doing nothing versus the cost of doing www.environmental-innovations.biz
company with a £700,000 clean-up bill something. However, advances in Tel: 0800 731 9313
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SUSTAINABLE FM | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009
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