Where there’s muck there’s brass

15 Oct 2007

A co-operative project between Corus Colors and construction company Tarmac has resulted in thousands of tonnes of construction and demolition waste being recovered into aggregate material for use in the M56 motorway extension. The ground-breaking project solved the problem of what to do with approximately 25,000 tonnes of waste material excavated during the construction of the new Shotton railhead in 2005.

“During construction of the railhead we had to remove significant amounts of material from the site’s foundation”, explained Emmet Mailey, Manager Site Development and Engineering. “We would have incurred costs of more than £40k to dispose of the material, so we investigated other options. Tarmac was approached to see if it could be put to use as an aggregate material. Richard Kirwin from Tarmac arrived on-site and jumped up and down when he saw what we had”, added Emmet. “Over a ten-week period earlier this year, Roy Derbyshire from the Regeneration department, working in conjunction with Tarmac, brought crushers on-site and the material was converted into 13,000 tonnes of construction grade fill, ideal for use in highway construction. The converted aggregate was sold to Carillion for use in the nearby Drome Corner M56 extension, helping the project meet its own sustainability targets. Carillion will shortly be collecting the aggregate by lorry and the product will be removed entirely”, said Emmet. The recycling arm of Tarmac has been delighted by the co-operation and we have been able to convert a £40k cost into a £10k profit.