Church Village Bypass Sustainability Success
Waste reduction and sustainability remain a top priority when
constructing the £90million Church Village Bypass.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council's contractors Costain acknowledge its
corporate responsibility to promote waste reduction and to ensure
that every opportunity is taken to utilise locally sourced and
recycled material.
With the support of the Council, stringent waste and
sustainability targets have been set and as the completion date of
Autumn 2010 grows nearer, all of these targets are expected to be
achieved or surpassed.
The construction industry is responsible for an estimated 120
million tonnes of waste every year, approximately one third of all
UK waste.
A key aim of the project is to incorporate as much
site-generated waste as possible into the works to eliminate
disposal to landfill. To date over 99% of waste arising from site
activities has been re-used in the construction
works.
As part of the value engineering exercise undertaken, the
alignment of the new carriageway was engineered to both reduce the
volume of earthworks required and also balance the
earthworks.
This has meant that no material has had to be imported to
complete the earthworks nor has any waste material been sent to
landfill.
The culvert and bridge structures have been designed to reduce
the volume of materials required in construction and these have
then been manufactured off-site in factory environments, further
reducing the waste normally associated with in-situ
construction.
Secondary aggregates have been used to form the carriageway and
to reduce the impact of using virgin aggregates.
Blast furnace slag has been locally sourced for use in both the
carriageway sub-grade and the tarmacadam surfacing. It estimated
that by the time the project is completed, over 250,000 tonnes of
this material will have been used.
During the construction of the earthworks, the site has
excavated almost 20,000 tonnes of peat and some is being re-used
with other site-won earth to manufacture topsoil
replacement.
This means the site will avoid the need to import topsoil to
complete the landscaping works and ensures that potential waste
material is re-used effectively on site.
The project team has set a range of waste targets that are
continually monitored to ensure that materials are not wasted.
Material use is reconciled on a central database with progress
against targets issued regularly to the project team.
Following close liaison with the Environment Agency, appropriate
licences were obtained enabling the project to utilise
approximately 300,000 excavated tyres, 60,000 tonnes of pulverised
fuel ash and 50,000 tonnes of construction waste into the
construction works.
The tyres, which can no longer be sent to landfill, were
cleaned, guillotined and compressed into bales which were used in
the landscape design.
Dan Powrie, Costain Construction Manager said: "We have worked
very closely with our client Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough
Council and the Environment Agency to ensure that every opportunity
has been taken to minimize the environmental impact of our
work".
Cllr Andrew Morgan, Cabinet Member for Transport and Customer
Care explained: "Waste reduction and sustainability is a priority
for Rhondda Cynon Taf in all of the services we provide and clearly
this message is just as important when undertaking the Church
Village Bypass.
"With careful planning, our contractors have successfully
ensured that 99% of waste arising from site activities has been
re-used in the construction work. The movement of 100,000 cubic
metres of soil at Power Station Hill and the baling of 300,000
tyres found nearby is a perfect example of this.
"The sustainability record so far has been exemplary and as the
completion of the Church Village Bypass grows ever nearer, we will
ensure such high standards are maintained for the benefit of the
local and for that matter, global, environment."
(ENDS)