Recycling & Waste Management


Foremans hands over fifth project to Tata Steel


A new project office for major redevelopment scheme


Foremans Relocatable Building Systems, the UK’s largest supplier of refurbished Portakabin buildings, has handed over its fifth building to Tata Steel in Scunthorpe – a new project office for a major redevelopment on the integrated steelmaking site.


This latest scheme, which is sustainably constructed from recycled and refurbished steel-framed building modules, will accommodate around 60 project engineers who were previously working from a number of locations across the Scunthorpe site which spans 27 square miles. Foremans has already delivered three office buildings and a canteen on the same site. The three-storey building, now known as ‘The Palace’ by Tata Steel staff, provides open plan offices and conference, induction and meeting rooms, as well as shower and toilet facilities. Foremans supplied the building around 70 per cent complete, with doors, windows, partitions, flooring, plumbing and electrics all pre-installed to reduce disruption to Tata Steel’s day-to-day operations. Data


communications, fire and security systems were also installed by Foremans. Commenting on the project, David Norris, Project Manager at Tata Steel, said “We looked at new manufacture and traditional brick build at the start of this project, but a refurbished Portakabin building gave us the benefit of significant savings in both cost and programme. We were also impressed that the building structure has a 60-year design life.” “We were very pleased with the level of service we received from Foremans and their performance throughout. This is an excellent building delivered within our cost constraints and it looks brand new – you would never know its structure is recycled. We have used Foremans buildings previously on this site – and will be issuing a commendation via our purchasing department for their team’s performance on this project.” Tata Steel is one of the world’s largest producers of steel, with operations in 26 countries. Scunthorpe is home to its Long Products UK Hub. Steel manufactured in


Scunthorpe has been used in a wide range of applications from the construction of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, the T’sing Ma bridge in Hong Kong, Heathrow Terminal 5 and the new Wembley Stadium, to simple everyday objects such as paperclips and light bulbs.


The use of recycled Portakabin buildings is one of the most environmentally sound methods of construction. It generates less than 10 per cent of the carbon emissions and uses less than 3 per cent of the energy during construction, compared to a newly manufactured building of equivalent size (source: MPBA/Arup). Other benefits include programme times reduced by up to 70 per cent, reduced cost, and the buildings can be easily expanded, reconfigured or removed if an organisation’s requirements change.


For further information about recycled and refurbished Portakabin buildings, visit www.foremansbuildings.info, email info@foremansbuildings.co.uk, or call 01964 544344.


Carpet tile reuse and recycling present opportunities for FM


Increasing the reuse or recycling of the estimated 58 million individual carpet tiles uplifted each year in the UK is a key focus for Carpet Recycling UK as it strives to divert more material from landfill and to help organisations achieve zero to landfill targets.


In 2011, an estimated 750,000 carpet tiles were reused or recycled, representing a diversion rate of just 1.4%. However, the sector is expanding with 15 CRUK member organisations comprising five reuse organisations and 10 recycling or fuel flock specialists able to tackle this 64,000 tonnes waste stream.


Projects for carpet tile recycling and reuse include DESSO’s nationwide collection and recycling Take Back™ programme and Greenstream Recycling’s national re-use/recycling collection for local social benefit.


Flooring manufacturer DESSO, a CRUK core funder, provides nationwide collection and recycling facilities via its Take Back™ programme, which accepts used tiles from any source, except PVC-backed tiles. Established in 2008, this recycling initiative aims to ensure zero goes to landfill by turning old tiles into new flooring products or using them in other recycling


Building & Facilities Management – September 2013


initiatives. Participants receive a Take Back™-certificate as a guarantee that the material was recycled according to Cradle to Cradle® principles. In the refurbishment of Wales & West Utilities Headquarters in Newport, South Wales, DESSO supplied 3,600m² of new Freestyle carpet tiles, but also recovered the old carpet tiles which were cleaned and reused in other local projects. ALC Contracts, project manager Carillion Property Services and DESSO’s team effort completed the contract a week ahead of schedule. South Wales-based social enterprise Greenstream Flooring CIC diverted more than 36,500m² of unwanted carpet tiles in 2012, 70% of which was reused by themselves and their national network of community re-sellers.


“Creating a second life for carpet tiles for low-income families/individuals in the UK provides the FM sector with a set of unique quantified social outputs that any other ‘waste option’ can’t beat,” says Managing Director Ellen Petts. In the first six months of this year, Greenstream diverted 37,600m² tonnes of carpet tiles from landfill via their South Wales site and recently-launched new branch within


recycling & waste management 33


London’s Wandsworth Prison. Laurance concludes: “We are very keen to hear from organisations who wish to recycle their unwanted carpet tiles as we can put them in touch with collection schemes, recyclers and outlets offering alternatives to landfill. Opportunities are growing for re-use, offering potential savings on disposal costs while contributing to organisations’ Green Procurement policies and eco-credentials.” Carpet Recycling UK was formed in 2008 to tackle the 400,000 tonnes of waste carpet arising annually in the UK. For more information, call 0161 440 8325 or visit www.carpetrecyclinguk.com


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