A pioneering company is taking a fresh approach to solving a growing problem – the ethical disposal of All Weather Pitches.
As well as being costly, the removal of old AWPs can be significantly detrimental to the environment.
Materials that could be re-used are often dumped – wasting natural resources and leading to unnecessary transportation costs and pollution.
However, Surrey-based firm Xtraction is revolutionising the way such problems are tackled.
By reclaiming and re-using materials on site, it minimises the environmental impact and returns value to customers.
Xtraction recently demonstrated the effectiveness of this process with spectacular results at Mayfield School, in Redbridge, London, which needed to replace a surface that did not meet the Football Association's guidelines.
The company reclaimed and re-used an astonishing 156 tons of infill, resulting in savings of around £16,000 – and eliminated the need for an estimated 19 lorries to remove it.
"The process avoided a huge amount of material being dumped in landfill and saved the environment more than 2,000 haulage miles," said Xtraction's Nick Wells.
The carpet, also a valuable commodity, will be re-used in public access areas at Twickenham during the Rugby World Cup later this year – and will be available to other customers after that.
Nick's business partner Tim Gallagher added: "At Mayfield, we demonstrated how on-site processing can release the locked-in value of the infill materials, saving the customer money and reducing their carbon footprint.
"That means they benefit from positive public relations and compliance with environmental criteria linked to ISO 14001."
