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