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www.ie-today.co.uk
KEEP IT GREEN | PROMOTION: XTR ACTION | 39
Company leads the way in tackling “hidden problem”
An innovative company is exploring enterprising ways to give second lives to old synthetic playing surfaces and preventing them from being dumped. Ken Oxley reports
in landfill sites and field tips. As artificial pitches increase in
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popularity among schools and community groups, disposing of them at the end of their life cycle has become one of the industry’s major challenges. Too often components such as sand and rubber – as well as the carpet itself – get thrown away when they could have a second life. However, a Surrey-based company
is taking a fresh approach to tackling what has been labelled the industry’s “hidden problem”. Launched in 2013 by businessmen Tim Gallagher and Nick Wells, Xtraction is pioneering a technique to reclaim and recycle carpet and infill material worth tens of thousands of pounds. Tim explained: “We are taking an ethical and transparent approach, which will hopefully put an end to the shady field-tipping that goes on.” Such practices occur when some of the
industry’s less scrupulous contractors seek to avoid landfill fees. The result is that vast quantities of potentially reusable material ends up being stored – supposedly for reprocessing – in “out of sight, out of mind” locations. In reality, says Tim’s co-director Nick, it is “being left for the next generation to worry about”. It is an unsustainable model – a
fact acknowledged elsewhere, such as in certain American states, where it is a legal requirement for synthetic surfaces infill to be reused. Xtraction’s process enables the
constituent parts of synthetic surfaces to be separated. A recent project involved removing and recycling an artificial pitch installed in error in Ilford, East London. Nick explained: “The pitch did not meet the Football Association’s specifications, so it had to be taken up even though it was only about five months old. “We took the job on to showcase to contractors what we can do. We wanted
to demonstrate how much valuable material there is in these surfaces, and how crazy it is to throw it away! “We worked on site, which kept the
carbon footprint to a minimum, and ended up reclaiming 210 tonnes of sand. By educating people, we hope to put an end to bad practice.” An impressive 50 percent of sand
extracted will be reused on the new installation and the remainder has been sold on to one of the company’s clients which runs five-a-side centres in London. The carpet will also be given a new lease of life. It is destined for a site in Twickenham, where it will be used for an event during the 2015 Rugby World Cup. And, once that sporting spectacle is over, it will be relocated to a more permanent site for sports use in the community. This is similar to what happened when
Xtraction removed a playing surface at Newcastle Grammar School and relaid a reclaimed section at a community
aluable material from synthetic playing surfaces is being needlessly dumped
ABOVE LEFT: The industry’s “hidden problem” – old, stockpiled synthetic playing surfaces could become an issue for future generations. ABOVE RIGHT: Neatly rolled- up carpet ready for reuse – Xtraction’s environmentally- friendly solution. LEFT: The Xtraction machine in operation, reclaiming infill material from a synthetic playing surface
facility in London – with both parties delighted with the results. Tim Gallagher explained: “When carpets are uplifted, schools have the opportunity to reuse some as not all of the carpet needs to be taken away for recycling. A second- life opportunity is now present and this in turn enables schools to upgrade old hard standing areas, be they tennis courts, netball courts, multi-use games areas, pathways or leisure areas. If they do not want to upgrade, then they can always give feeder schools the option to upgrade hard standing areas at a fraction of the cost of using new carpet.” Xtraction’s process has won praise
from the Football Association, which funds developments in relation to synthetic surfaces through the Football Foundation. Tim said: “They have witnessed our process first-hand and their response has been extremely positive.” iE
Xtraction W:
www.xtraction.com
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