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tunnelling underground space MSc Tunnelling & Underground Space Waste

Tunnelling underground space MSc Tunnelling & Underground Space Waste

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Page 1: Tunnelling underground space MSc Tunnelling & Underground Space Waste

tunnelling underground space

MSc Tunnelling & Underground Space

Waste

Page 2: Tunnelling underground space MSc Tunnelling & Underground Space Waste

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Contents1. What is waste?2. Waste hierarchy3. Waste economics4. Direct and indirect impacts of waste5. Waste legislation, duty of care, classifications,

waste transfer notes6. Waste water

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Waste• the legal definition of waste is found in the Waste

Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) (WFD): ‘any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard’

• ‘controlled waste’ is a generic term, and all construction waste is controlled waste

• waste not only affects the environment, but handling waste inefficiently costs time, money and effort

• for example, by not segregating waste initially, inert material may have to be disposed of as active or hazardous waste

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Waste economics• true cost is 8-10 times the disposal cost

– purchase price of wasted materials– cost of storage, transport and disposal of

excess materials/waste– cost of time spent managing/handling waste– loss of income from not reusing waste

materials

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The waste hierarchy (from WFD)

CIRIA C692 (2010)

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Direct impacts of waste• emissions – any processing of waste before

disposal requires energy• emissions from transport• landfill emissions• land use – disposal to landfill requires the use and

pollution of land, that could be used for other purposes or left unpolluted for ecological value

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Indirect impacts of waste• raw material use, energy consumption and

emissions in production of product, material, packaging etc. before becoming waste

• recycling uses energy and causes emissions, and in itself usually generates waste

• landfill will need to be cleaned up if we ever want to reuse the land

• energy use and emissions of transport, processing and disposal of waste by waste contractor

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Waste legislation• refer to pre-work, but can be summarised as having 2

aims:1. to ensure waste disposal is regulated and

traceable2. to ensure the cost of waste disposal is borne by

the waste producer (polluter pays principle)• European Waste Catalogue (EWC), transposed into

List of Wastes (England) Regulations assigns 6-digit codes to different types of waste, and these must be written on the waste transfer notes

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Duty of care• producer of waste (construction contractor) has a

duty of care to ensure that waste contractors have a waste carrier’s licence

• obtain a copy of the Waste Management Licence of the point of disposal

• Waste Transfer Notes for each consignment (or annual for large continuous amounts of a particular waste stream) are required

• records must be kept for 2 years for inert and non-hazardous waste, and 3 years for hazardous waste

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Waste classifications

• Inert waste must meet the following criteria:– will not undergo any physical, chemical or

biological transformations– will not dissolve– will not burn– will not physically or chemically react– will not biodegrade– will not adversely affect other matter– will not produce a leachate in its toxicity

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Waste classifications• inert wastes include:

– soil and stones (not including top soil or organic soil)

– brick– concrete– tiles and ceramics– mixtures of the above

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Waste classifications• Non hazardous waste is neither inert nor

hazardous • Hazardous waste contains dangerous substances

that can cause harm to human health or the environment, and is signified in the EWC as hazardous. All hazardous wastes must be segregated, and also must not be mixed with other hazardous wastes

• Non-reactive/stable waste is defined and assessed through leachate and soil testing, termed as Waste Acceptance Criteria tests

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Waste classifications• Liquid waste• Granular waste is neither monolithic, liquid, gas or

sludge (all soils are considered granular)• Monolithic waste normally means wastes that

have been treated to solidify them, provided that when disposed of the material forms large blocks or slabs

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Hazardous wastes• can be identified by:

– product information, labels– any testing undertaken by the supplier– COSHH sheets– CHIP documentation (Chemicals (Hazard

Information and Packaging) Regulations 1994)– supplier information

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Waste Transfer Notes• two types, either:

– ‘controlled waste transfer notes’ or – ‘hazardous waste consignment notes’

• copies are retained by the site, the haulier and the operator at the point of disposal

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Waste Transfer Notes• for inert & non-hazardous waste, WTN should have:

– location of waste production– qualitative description of the nature of the waste– EWC waste code– how the waste is contained– date and time of collection– vehicle registration– waste carrier’s registration– where possible information should be given about the

point of disposal– signed and dated by haulier and contractor

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Hazardous waste consignment notes• a hazardous waste consignment note should be

obtained from the Environment Agency• obtain a unique consignment note code from the

Environment Agency• at least 3 working days prior to transfer, Site

Manager shall send the top copy to the EA office responsible for the waste’s final destination

• there are copies for the site, haulier, disposal site and EA

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Waste characterisation• under Landfill Regulations 2002, all wastes

destined for landfill must be characterised and described in systematic fashion

• non-hazardous mixed construction wastes being sent to a Waste Transfer Station for recycling do not require segregation or characterisation

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Examples of waste segregation

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Waste water• pollution cannot be allowed to enter any water

body• pollution includes silt, cement, concrete, oil,

petroleum spirit, chemicals, solvents, sewage etc.• ecology may also be affected by activities directly

or indirectly affecting ecology including – changes in physico-chemical parameters such

as temperature, turbidity and dissolved oxygen – or physical modifications to the hydrology or

morphology of a water body

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Small quantities, big impact• high concentrations of suspended solids in a

water body can clog fish gills and kill them• sediment on the bed can prevent fish from

spawning properly and can suffocate eggs• low silt concentrations as low as 15 mg/l can

harm juvenile fish

• 5 litres of oil can cover an area of water the size of 4 football pitches

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Discharge into foul sewers• trade effluent consent required from sewerage

provider• sewage treatment works don’t remove all

pollutants, but some chemicals are allowed, limits are usually specified

• no oils or organic solvents• limits on suspended solids depend on the sewer

but can be 300-1000 mg/l

• do not discharge into surface drains!

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Discharge into water bodies• only under exceptional circumstances• requires consent of the Environment Agency,

including for discharge to groundwater• limit on suspended inert inorganic solids usually

30-40 mg/l

• waste water will need to be pretty clean!

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Drain mitigation• there are 3 main types of drain: foul water,

surface water and combined drainage systems

• interceptors can be placed in drains to catch oils• bunding or silt traps may be placed around drains

to prevent silt run-off entering

• keep drain covers or sandbags nearby in case of a spillage

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CIRIA C692 (2010)

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Water pollution risk identification• use source – pathway – receptor model, e.g.:

• once risks have been assessed, select suitable control measures and monitoring requirements

• hierarchy – apply control measures first to source, then pathway, then receptor

CIRIA C692 (2010)

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Discharge monitoring• check turbidity (cloudiness), colour• check odour• check no oil film on top• check pH

• more specialised and scientific tests can be performed by specialists

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Waste water options• pump to grassland or a soakaway (cheap but

cannot contain pollutants, just silt)• pump to water body (need EA approval)• pump to foul water sewer (need sewerage

provider’s permission), with treatment:– settlement tanks or lagoons, with or without

flocculants/coagulants– filtration, centrifuge or filter press

• pump to a tanker and treat off-site (expensive)

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References• CIRIA (2010). Environmental good practice on site. CIRIA Report C692 (Audus,

I., Charles, P. & Evans, S. eds). London: CIRIA.