20.09.07
Tube Lines leaves nothing to waste
Tube Lines sets new standard for eco-friendly working
Tube Lines, the company rebuilding 40% of the London Underground, set a new standard for working this summer when it dramatically improved a trackside environment and turned waste into a useful resource when upgrading the embankment that runs beside the Jubilee line track near Kingsbury station. The ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ project was the first of its kind on the Underground which saw almost 99% of waste from the embankment restoration project at Kingsbury reused and recycled.
Tube Lines has set itself a series of ambitious environmental improvement actions for 2007 in an effort to reduce its own carbon footprint and to play its part in London’s endeavour to becoming the greenest city in the world. The ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ scheme is one of many initiatives being implemented by Tube Lines to work towards achieving this ambition. Reducing waste and increasing levels of reuse and recycling will help the company reduce its impact on the environment and drive down project costs.
The embankment restoration project at Kingsbury began in May 2007 and was finished two weeks ahead of schedule in August. The calculations identifying how much waste from the project has been reused or recycled have recently been finalised showing that more than 4,150 tonnes of material was removed from the site for reuse and recycling. Of this, 380 tonnes of vegetation was sent for chipping, 1,900 tonnes of soil and clay was reused as capping material at the Gerrard’s Cross landfill site, and 100 tonnes of concrete and rubble was crushed for re-use as aggregate. A further 1,800 tonnes of filing material was sent to another Tube Lines project in Stanmore for reuse. The team also cleaned the trackside area of rubbish and sorted it for recycling. Reprocessed topsoil was used for the embankment, while logs were retained to preserve a natural wildlife habitat.
Mark Edwards, Tube Lines health, safety and environment manager for special projects said:
“The project at Kingsbury has set a high bar for other Tube Lines projects looking to maximise reuse of material to reduce its overall impact on the environment. By reusing and recycling 99% of waste from this project, the team exceeded all expectations demonstrating what can be achieved through careful and considerate planning of waste management practices.”
Tube Lines was supported by the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP); the world’s first nationwide symbiosis programme helping companies to maximise their resource use, divert waste from landfill and improve efficiency. NISP supported Tube Lines in the development and implementation of this initiative and will continue to work with them to roll out other projects under this scheme to improve its social responsibility and reduce its impact on the environment.
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