Dorton Group has purchased a plot in Crawley, West Sussex on which they will build a new headquarters and waste recycling centre. It is hoped that they will be able to occupy the new offices by the end of 2011.
Dorton Managing Director Duke Harvey made the decision based on the companies’ dramatic growth in recent years and the increasing requirements to manage bigger and more complex projects. “We are now focused on securing and running more large scale projects similar to some of the key successes we have had over the past year. Rationalisation of our Sussex sites to one new location where we can manage C&D waste will enable us to be even more competitive which in combination with our high investment in quality people, processes and machinery will strategically position us for many years to come”
Despite the tough economic conditions to befall the industry over the past year Dorton Group experienced significant growth in both turnover and the size of major projects it was awarded to become one of the fastest growing demolition, deconstruction and materials recycling companies in the UK.
Dorton Group Managing Director Duke Harvey recognised the potential impact of a recession on the market but instead of cutting back continued to invest in the companies’ ability to deliver high quality services. “We have always been a very ambitious company so ensuring that we had the capabilities to help achieve our ambitions was always of paramount importance. The irony is that by continuing to invest despite the economy was one of the main reasons for our success in 2010 and it has created a great springboard for further expansion”.
Dorton Group has continued with its regional expansion by taking over a 3 acre site located near Plymouth on which they will open an Aggregates and Soils Recycling Facility.
The operation will manage materials created from Dorton’s own demolition and deconstruction projects as well as from other sources. Dorton Group Director Terry Quarmby explained the rationale for this expansion “This new facility, in combination with our South West offices in Plymouth, show our commitment in providing comprehensive demolition and recycling services within the region. As a company we are committed to minimise waste and through skilled material valuations and by utilising efficient recycling methodologies we will be able to be even more competitive to both existing and new clients”.
Dorton Group continually pursues innovation for the purpose of creating increased client benefits and this principle has been extended from their services delivery to the commercial engagement.
Managing Director Duke Harvey recognised the need to minimise and manage the commercial risks for clients, “We will continue to place great emphasis on proactive risk management across all projects, however, there are still commercial challenges for clients relating to the control of costs and end dates than can be further mitigated”. “Despite surveys being carried out by our client’s agents regarding the presence of asbestos and contaminants the majority of projects tend to uncover additional work in these areas that will increase client costs but more importantly it could result in completion delays that have subsequent knock on effects to planned construction works. We have created a commercial model that removes the risk for our clients and the response so far has been extremely positive”. To find out more please contact us.
IDE Autumn Seminar
The second of our seminars this year took place at 1, Great George Street, London the headquarters of the Institution of Civil Engineers. As always the event proved to be very popular with a full house of a little over a hundred attendees. The theme this year centred around waste and its legal implications although the mood was lightened by an interesting if somewhat different presentation from Jeremy Hunt, the head of Sellerfield Decommissioning Group, who took us on a fantastic trip around the stars, our galaxy and those close to us. Jeremy's take on big bangs and recycling activities taking place in the heavens was certainly an innovative and unusual comparison to our own on site activities.
IDE Council Member Wayne Bagnall kicked off the proceedings a little after 10.00 with an informative presentation on asbestos with a particular emphasis on HSG264 the new Surveyors Guide which has replaced MDHS100. Asbestos removal, handling and disposal continues to be an important subject and with the increased pressure being applied by HSE to eradicate poor contractor practices we must ensure that we have a good grasp of the legislative and regulative processes.
Barry Love, a lawyer who specialises in Environmental Law took us through the legal definition of waste, siting case law and giving us some valuable insight into how we can manage our waste activities without falling foul of the numerous regulative protocols associated with this difficult subject. Barry is just one of the experts that the IDE hope will continue to offer their undeniable expertise. We also plan to broach this subject by looking at it from a slighlty different angle at the spring seminar in Leeds.
The NFDC Chief Executive, Howard Button, offered an insight into the site audit scheme as well as advising on the updates to the NFDC Guidance documents currently available and those in the process of being updated.
Specialist contract law quantity surveyor Clive Marshall managed to bring down a sombre atmosphere with a presentation on the new NEC 3 Contract that had many in the audience gasping at some of the conditions and what they could mean for demolition contractors on some contracts. We must be grateful to Clive and others in his position for taking the time to advise us on these matters. Fore warned is fore armed as they say and with contracts like this around its just as well!!
One of the joys of this seminar was a short film that was presented and ably explained by Bruce Atkinson, a long standing IDE member. The film, which was made in the 1970's by Ogden Demolition, took us through a blow down project of three large blocks of flats in Birkenhead. The film races through an often chaotic sequence of events, with intervals of relaxed health and safety procedures, by today's standards, culminating in a successful felling of the blocks after some hairy moments. For those of us who were around at that time it was an insightful reminder of days gone by and how our industry has changed beyond recognition.
All in all, it was a very good day and one that all I spoke to afterwards thoroughly enjoyed. I would particulary like to thank our seminar director John Woodward for his part in making it a success and the national secretary Valerie Stroud for her sterling contribution. I look forward to seeing you all at the AGM and annual luncheon in November.
During the later part of 2009 the Dorton Group expanded its geographical coverage by opening an additional office in Plymouth. This investment in the business has enabled the company to offer a more efficient and effective customer service covering the South West.
Our contact for this region is Frank Smalley who has worked this area for most of his life and has an excellent in depth knowledge of both the area and the industry.
The Dorton Group is very pleased to have Frank working with us to further develop and grow the business in this region, and with his many years of experience, being well respected and always available for business enquiries, we plan to be of continued service to existing and new clients.
For further information contact:
South West Office
Riverford House, Forresters Business Park,
Estover Close, Estover, PLYMOUTH
Devon PL6 7PL
Tel: 01752 695562
Fax: 01752 695739
Demolition Awards 2010
Dorton Group are delighted to announce that for the second year running our submission in the 'Training' and 'Safety' categories, for the prestigeous D & R i Demolition Awards 10, which is supported by the European Demolition Association has been shortlisted.
The winner of the award will be announced during the 'Demolition Summit' which takes place on Friday 5th November 2010 at the Hotel Okura, Amsterdam. The award will be presented at the Demolition Awards dinner that evening.
Full details of the shortlist for this award and other awards given on the night, can be found at the following link:
Definition of Waste
Environment Agency v Inglenorth Limited ( 2009 )
A ground breaking piece of case law has been made recently following the dismissal of the EA's appeal against the findings of the initial magistrates court regarding a case taken against Inglenorth Limited a demolition and recycling company in the north west of england. Inglenorth demolished a greenhouse at site A for their client and transferred the materials to site B for reuse as hardcore in a car park area. The EA prosecuted Inglenorth under ss. 33(1)(a) ( failure to hold a waste management licence for the deposit of the waste ) and 34(1)(a) Environmental Protection Act 1990 ( EPA ) ( failure to take reasonable measures to prevent a third party from breaching the EPA ). The magistrates found the defendants not guilty on the basis that the material was not 'waste' as defined by the 'Waste Framework Directive' and s.75 (2) EPA. Under this legislation, 'waste' is defined as any substance or object in the ( non-exhaustive ) categories set out in the ( schedules to the EPA ) which the holder discards or intends to discard or is required to discardI ( emphasis added ).
The details of the case are suprisingly straightforward and although the EA endeavoured to muddy the waters by bringing into question storage times and immediate use the high courts dismissed the case and directed that no further appeal could be taken through the House of Lords. The clear message that this case sends is that where there is no intention at any time to discard demolition materials because those materials are to be recycled, reused and or reclaimed, then they cannot and are not to be classed as 'waste'. Demolition contractors have obviously a great deal to benefit from this decision and where there is evidence in place to show an intent to reclaim and reuse the onerous conditions set by the Waste Management Licensing Regulations will not come into play. However, there are or could be some instances where, through circumstances or site conditions, this may be difficult to prove and demolition contractors would be well advised to take each site or case on its merit.
Health & Safety Executive Annual Report 2008 / 2009
On 1 April 2008, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) merged to form a single regulatory body, retaining the HSE title, with the overall purpose of the prevention of death, injury and ill health to those at work and those affected by work activities in Great Britain. This is the first Annual Report since the merger and it summarises the ‘new’ HSE’s performance during 2008/09, together with the valued work that we undertake in partnership with local authorities, trade unions, other parts of government and other public and private sector stakeholders. We recognise that during the year unprecedented economic circumstances have emerged mwhich inevitably create significant pressure on organisations to reduce costs. It is, therefore, essential that health and safety remains high on the agenda as a driver of business benefit not a cost or ‘burden’.
While HSE uses a range of influencing techniques and interventions, when it is clear that failure to comply with workplace health and safety regulations may put the lives of others at risk we have taken – and will continue to take – enforcement action. Based on the latest statistics for 2007/08, HSE issued 7715 enforcement notices and prosecuted 1137 employers. Those organisations found guilty were fined £10 819 475 for breaching health and safety law. Investigation and, ultimately, prosecution not only secures justice but is also vital if we are to learn from events and share the knowledge to prevent recurrence in similar circumstances.
Feedback from our stakeholders tells us that the majority value HSE’s work highly. We have, however, increased our activity to counter inaccurate and often misleading claims in some sections of the media about alleged overzealous health and safety regulation by successfully promoting our message of a sensible and proportionate approach to risk management Industry and the workforce have changed over the years, with a growth in hazardous industries such as recycling and waste management. We also have more small businesses and a more diverse workforce. This necessitates new approaches to managing risks but within a regulatory framework that remains fit for purpose. Our task, therefore, is to find new, effective and innovative ways to engage current and future workforces to:
WRAP Designing out Waste
Design for Reuse and Recovery
Research has identified that the reuse of material components and/or entire buildings has considerable potential to reduce the key environmental burdens (e.g. embodied energy, CO etc,) resulting from construction. Much of this is common sense
as, with reuse, the effective life of the materials is extended an thus annualised burdens are spread over a greater number of years. Reuse, in the waste hierarchy (see Figure 2) is generally preferable to recycling, where additional processes are involved, some of which will have their own environmental burdens. In construction, reuse may imply the reuse of existing materials on site (the focus of this section of the guide) or the use of ‘new’ materials that contain a high level of recycled material (often referred to as ‘recycled content’). Of course, reuse of existing materials is not simply limited to immediate on site material or components, but also to the reuse of materials and components that have been salvaged from other sites. Extensive guidance on materials with recycled content can be found in the following WRAP publications:
The first consideration of Design for Reuse and Recovery starts with the site analysis, a site visit being perhaps one of the very first activities carried out prior to design. The reuse of buildings (if any on the site, including parts of buildings) and or existing materials to accommodate the client’s requirements should be considered from this very early stage (typically Stage A-C in the RIBA Plan or Work). If the decision is made that only a new building will satisfy the client’s requirements, demolition and site clearance consequentially follow. Even in these instances the following questions should be asked: Where opportunities exist for reusing materials and/or components, these will need to be reviewed to ensure that they meet the required functionality of the new building design. Where no such opportunities exist, then the architect should advise the client and/or the demolition contractor as appropriate and promote good practice in the demolition to ensure maximum recovery of materials through recycling. For further guidance refer to the WRAP publication Environmental impact of higher recycled content.www.wrap.org.uk/construction for more information.– a step by step guidance: The efficient use of materials in regeneration projects.
Key questions
The Environment Agencies Position on Plasterboard to Landfill
Purpose of this note
This statement summarises how we will regulate the landfilling of waste containing or consisting of gypsum in England and Wales. If such wastes are disposed of with biodegradable wastes it can lead to the production of odorous and toxic hydrogen sulphide gas. To reduce the impact of this waste we want to ensure that it is managed properly. This position supersedes all previously issued regulatory positions connected with the landfill of gypsum waste. We are developing guidance with industry on the management of ‘other high sulphate bearing waste’ that will be available soon.
Regulations
‘Non-hazardous gypsum-based and other high sulphate bearing materials should be disposed of only in landfills for non-hazardous waste in cells where no biodegradable waste is accepted’.
Limits apply to organic carbon in waste to be deposited in such cells.
We had been taking a pragmatic view that separate disposal is not necessary where construction waste contains small amounts (up to 10%) sulphate. This was a working guideline that we always planned to review in response to scientific research.
The results of this research will be available soon (Sulphate Bearing Waste: Determination of a Concentration Limit for Separate Disposal). It will confirm that the relationship between sulphate in waste and the production of hydrogen sulphide gas is complex, but will conclude that we cannot set a practicable limit for gypsum wastes. We are therefore revising our guidance to remove the 10% guideline value.
Our intention is to encourage the reuse and recycling of more gypsum and other high sulphate bearing waste while reducing the potential production of hydrogen sulphide gas at a landfill.
This position applies to loads of waste containing identifyable
How do I manage my waste gypsum-based materials?
All waste destined for disposal to landfill must be treated. We have produced guidance that is available at:
The Landfill Directive sets out the general conditions for the landfilling of waste with the aim of minimising the impact of landfill on the environment and to encourage waste minimisation and recycling. set out the criteria for the acceptance of gypsum and other high sulphate bearing wastes at landfill: The landfilling of gypsum and other high sulphate bearing wastes with biodegradable waste has been prohibited in England and Wales since July 2005. gypsum-based materials (e.g. plasterboard). This material must not be landfilled with biodegradable waste. Producers of gypsum waste should separate it for recovery and recycling wherever possible. Where a load of gypsum is sent to landfill it must be deposited in a separate cell with waste that does not have a biodegradable content that exceeds specified limits.
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/1745440/444663/landfill/1789720/?version=1&lang=_e
The simplest method of treating gypsum waste is to separate it from other waste at the point of production. You could also send your waste to a contractor to sort it for you at a waste transfer facility. Separated gypsum waste can be recycled or reused, for example in the manufacture of plasterboard or for agricultural soil treatment. You can get more guidance on managing gypsum waste and alternative uses for it, from WRAP. See:
www.wrap.org.uk If you are a producer of construction and demolition waste, including a waste transfer facility:
http://www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs/legislation/380525/1555007/
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/acrobat/wacv2_1006008.pdf
If you are a landfill operator:
What you can expect from us
Landfilling of gypsum waste including plasterboard
2009 IDE Roadshows
The first two of three roadshows, so called because of their diverse locations around the UK and organised by the Institute of Demolition Engineers have proved to be a resounding success with members and their guests. The first of these mini seminars was held at the City Inn, Bristol in early June with the latest in early July at the Manchester Conference Centre.
Topical issues for discussion included presentations on Noise and Software Solutions, Redundancy Tribunals, Sustainability, Ecology and Legislatory updates. A further roadshow is planned for early August at Mercedes Benz World, Weybridge.
The IDE flagship seminar is scheduled for Friday 25th September at the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1 Great George Street, London
As part of its digital media strategy that has resulted in this new website, the Dorton Group also commissioned a re-branding exercise to ensure that the the company's image was in line with its experience and reputation.
FrogBox Marketing was appointed to create and implement both the digital media stratgey and the rebranding of all of the Dorton Group companies including Dorton Demolition and Excavation (Dde), Dorton Asbestos Removal and Management (Das) and Dorton Salvage and Reclamation (Dre).
When developing the visual treatment for the Dorton Group brand, the consultancy was keen to retain something of the original. In this instance the DDE letters remain the focus of the identity.