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Revolutionary
Waste Management System Unveiled
The
Northern Ireland Science Park has revealed that its Queen’s
Island site is the first location in the world to benefit from a
ground breaking approach to waste management which has been developed
by County Antrim based Ecomesh Ltd.
The
24-acre site was previously used for ship building and heavy engineering
and, as is the case with most brownfield sites, was subjected to
a degree of pollution – not least from the timber preservative
used during the construction of the Titanic and her sister ships.
The system being installed at the Science Park will return the land
to its natural state.
Ecomesh
Ltd, in conjunction with Queen’s University’s QUESTOR
centre, has developed a new sustainable approach to waste management
which harnesses naturally occurring biological processes. Importantly,
the process can be applied on site, allowing the Science Park to
avoid the more expensive and environmentally unfriendly approach
of ‘dig and dump’ which would have seen the material
transferred to a landfill site.
Norman
Apsley, Chief Executive of the Science Park said:
‘The
Science Park exists to foster innovation and help develop Northern
Ireland’s knowledge and research base. That creates an onus
upon us to create an environment and facilities which reflects the
blue sky thinking of our occupiers.
‘Ecomesh
Ltd is an excellent example of what collaboration between local
companies and universities can achieve. Among the system’s
many benefits is that it is totally unobtrusive - in this case it
is located underneath the Science Park’s car park. Aptly,
that means that occupiers at our new Innovation Centre will be walking
above a world first every time they go to work’.
‘There
is greater emphasis now in Northern Ireland on recycling waste and
we are keen to make our contribution. Essentially this scheme is
about recycling land and it will ensure that an important part of
Northern Ireland’s industrial heritage can be re-used for
a useful purpose’.
It
is estimated than in Europe alone there are at least 120,000 sites
which require remediation treatment. The demand for a cost effective
and environmentally friendly approach to waste management has increased
dramatically – driven by stricter legislation such as the
1997 EU landfill directive, growing acceptance from Government that
the polluter should pay and a need to redevelop unused brownfield
sites.
Managing
Director of Ecomesh Ltd, Ivan Rowe commented:
‘EU
legislation imposes a significant landfill tax to discourage the
practice of dig and dump. This tax can be significantly reduced
or completely avoided if developers install an Ecomesh treatment
cell.
The
system has huge global potential which will address growing demands
for an alternative to traditional landfill sites. It is also an
environmentally friendly and cost effective means of reclaiming
polluted land for redevelopment. We’re delighted to roll out
the system at the Science Park, given its clear focus on innovation
and openness to new technology’.
Instrumental
in the development of the technology was Professor Robert Kalin
one of the world’s leading experts in soil and ground water
remediation solutions who is based at QUESTOR’s Environmental
Engineering group. Funding was also made available from Invest NI
QTOOLS programme.
The
system works by isolating material in a leak proof, self sealing
vertical container which usually provides 33% more capacity than
normal landfill sites. Bacteria already present in the material
is stimulated by heat and this causes the bacteria to aerobically
break down waste by circulating oxygen throughout the container.
The
method and process of remediation can be speeded up depending upon
the particular requirements of the site. It also benefits from a
low energy requirement which can be met through the use of solar
or wind power.
The
overall remediation strategy for the Queen’s Island site using
Ecomesh’s services was provided by Holywood-based Parkman,
which acts on behalf of the Science Park as project consultants.
ENDS
For
further information please contact:
Jonathan
King
Client Manager
DCL
028 9033 9949
077646 27297
jonathan@dclmedia.com
Paul
McErlean
Managing Director (Joint)
DCL
028 9033 9949
paul@dclmedia.com
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