Making Waste A Green Solution
22 February 2010
In an increasingly 'green' world, waste is no longer a negative
commodity but a potential fuel and source of opportunity. An
opportunity that Costain can help the waste industry to
maximise.
That was the message given by Group Strategy and Business
Development Director, Stephen Wells, when he addressed
representatives from across the UK waste sector.
In a speech at the Institution of Civil Engineers to groups
including local authorities, regulators, equipment vendors,
consultants, competitors and major waste operators, Stephen noted
Costain's extensive experience in process plant design, management,
delivery and commissioning as well as Private Finance
Initiative (PFI) contracts.
Most major new waste plants are PFI projects, with contractors
providing local authorities with waste services for terms of up to
25 years.
"My presentation was on the value of the construction sector to
solving the UK's waste management problem," said Stephen. "It was
about how the UK construction sector can add much more value than
simply building these new plants.
"We're not just a Design & Build entity, we're bidding
municipal waste schemes as a special purpose company and as someone
who can take on the maintenance side of the Operation &
Maintenance of these facilities.
"Traditionally, waste operators have been landfill site
operators. We've been delivering PFI schemes across a variety of
sectors and customers for 15-20 years; we understand their
complexities and have delivered water and wastewater plants over
that period - indeed, we're the market leaders in those
sectors.
"We can help waste management landfill operators make the
transition to owning and operating complex Mechanical Biological
Treatment plants, which transform waste into fuel or compost. We
also understand the processes, risk and operational drivers for
maintaining these plants. We can add more value to the whole waste
spectrum."
Feedback to Stephen's presentation from the organisers of the
seminar had been positive, he said: "They said it went down very
well and they were pleased with Costain's contribution."
Ends