Implementing a site waste management plan: a case study of a medium sized building contractor in Ireland

Construction and demolition waste management is becoming increasingly important on construction sites as landfill space in Ireland is rapidly depleting and waste management costs are rising. Due to these factors waste management plans are seen as a good response to minimising waste on site and this thesis aims to investigate how to implement such a plan on a practical case study as well as investigating the legislation regarding construction and demolition waste along with market availability for the reuse of the waste. Main contractor surveys were also carried out in order to gain a better understanding of current attitudes within the industry and these surveys are analysed in chapter five. A survey was also carried out among sub-contractors but this survey has not been used for this thesis as the study is on-going. The primary aim of this thesis is to examine the waste hierarchy opportunities that are available for construction and demolition waste in Ireland and to examine the effects of management strategies on construction and demolition waste reduction at the project level. A partnership was developed with Carey Developments Ltd in Co. Galway and an analysis of their waste management practices was undertaken. The primary case study will be the ‘Taylors Hill’ project in Co. Galway where work commenced in March, 2012. The secondary aim of the thesis is to develop specific waste minimisation strategies for the company and to develop a training tool kit for use on site.

The assessment, management and ecological significance of Irish hedgerows

The vast network of hedges in Ireland provide habitats of great importance to the wildlife of the country, yet surprisingly enough, only very limited survey work has been carried out on our hedgerows in the past. Now with the implementation of the new Rural Environmental Protection Scheme, farmers will be paid to manage their hedgerows in such a way as to make them into increasingly attractive wildlife habitats. However, hedgerow management expertise seems to be somewhat lacking in Ireland and we must draw upon the knowledge of our neighbours in the E.U. where quite an amount of research has been carried out on this subject. The aim of this study is to present the relevant aspects of the research for the benefit of the people who will be involved in the administration of the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme and to anyone else involved in hedgerow management.

Ireland's biodegradable municipal waste

This project focuses on the EU Landfill Directive targets for Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW) specifically focusing on how the targets will affect Ireland and its waste management infrastructure. Research will consist of reviewing relevant literature, legislation and policies that will provide a comparable between Ireland and other nations. Planning processes which govern both the building structure and running capacities of treatment facilities is also necessary in order to predict amounts of waste diverted from landfill. The efficiency of these treatment plants also requires investigation. Another objective is to research further information on Irelands organic ‘brown’ bin service, this will involve discovering the roll out of bins in the future over a defined time scale as well as the potential amounts of waste that will be collected. Figures received from waste management and waste treatment companies will be combined with figures from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) annual reports. This will give an indication to past trends and shed light on possible future trends. With this information annul waste volumes consigned to landfill can be calculated and used to determine whether or not Ireland can achieve the EU Landfill Directive targets. Without significant investment in Irelands waste management infrastructure it is unlikely that the targets will be met. Existing waste treatment facilities need to be managed as efficiently as possible. Waste streams must also be managed so waste is shared appropriately between companies and not create a monopolising waste treatment facility. The driving forces behind an efficient waste management infrastructure are government policy and legislation. An overall and efficient waste management strategy must be in place, along with disincentives for landfilling of waste such as the landfill levy. Encouragement and education of the population is the fundamental and first step to achieving the landfill directive targets.

Development of an integrated approach to reliability management and operation

The research described in this thesis has been developed as a part of the Reliability and Field Data Management for Multi-component Products (REFIDAM) Project. This project was founded under the Applied Research Grants Scheme administered by Enterprise Ireland. The project was a partnership between Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and Thermo King Europe. The project aimed to develop a system in order to manage the information required for reliability assessment and improvement of multi-component products, by establishing information flows within the company and information exchange with fleet users.

Management and evaluation of a range of forest species for use as cut foliage

This project explored the possibility of harvesting marketable foliage stems in addition to producing timber from plantations of Larix leptolepis, Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Goldcrest’ and Tsuga heterophylla. Data recorded from trial sites included both growth parameters, in the form of height and diameter increments, and production parameters in the form of foliage stem yields. Results varied with species and site type. In many cases, results achieved appear to have been influenced more by the biology of the trees than by the treatments alone. Trials were also established to investigate methods of managing old or over grown Abies procera Christmas tree plantations for forest foliage production. Shelf life testing and market research into the domestic trade of forest foliage were also conducted over the course of the project. Recommendations for managing forest plantations for foliage production as well as a general discussion on the industry are presented in this report.