Case Studies

We work with clientele from all industry sectors, disposing of a wide variety of hazardous materials. We offer all of our clients cost effective and environmentally responsible waste management solutions, that do not compromise on safety, reliability or integrity. Below are recent examples of work that we have carried out:

 

Case Study Three - Site Clearance

In the current economic climate, Blue Environmental is often called into businesses that have ceased to trade but that have left stocks of both used and unused hazardous materials.  Before these sites can be sold or re-let this material has to be identified, cleared from the site and disposed of.

One such premises Blue was asked to clear was a manufacturer of scientific instruments.  The job was a complicated one; not only were there more general site clearance works occurring at the same time as our staff were on site, but the pack sizes ranged from 50g lab smalls to bulk tanks, some of which were unlabelled and therefore unidentified.

Following a site visit, Blue personnel began by preparing a detailed method statement and a risk assessment, bearing in mind the nature of the work and that there were other contractors on site.

One of our chemists then went onto site and listed and packed all the smaller containers, identifying anything that was unlabelled in the process. This material was then safely removed and disposed of; everything being done in line with current legislation.

In addition to the packaged waste, there were several tanks containing aqueous waste and trichloroethylene.  The site owner had arranged for the tanks to be removed and taken for scrap but prior to this they were required to be emptied and decontaminated.  Through one of our key suppliers we were able to arrange for this to be done with minimum disruption to all the other works that were occurring on the site at the same time.
 
Should you require a similar service, or just some advice on how to proceed, please do not hesitate to contact Blue Environmental Ltd on 01772 782 666  or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Case Study Two - Raw Material Samples

Blue Environmental were contacted in the middle of 2009 by a cosmetics formulator.  As part of their raw material procedure, all incoming chemicals were sampled and representative samples retained.

There was a backlog on site of over five years of samples to be disposed of, comprising approximately 32,000 samples and over 300 different raw materials.

The samples had to be sorted by hazard - non hazardous, irritant, harmful, corrosive, flammable, toxic and environmentally hazardous - listed and packed for transport as they had been stored in chronological order in trays.  Most samples were of well known chemicals but unfamiliar materials whose hazard(s) were not known by the chemists were not packed until the MSDS could be provided.  To reduce the inconvenience to the customer these were presented in block requests.

The work was performed on the customers’ site, was incident free and was completed in under 15 person days at a rate of over 1,500 samples a person day.

For more information on the identifying, listing and disposing of laboratory chemicals/samples please contact us on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Case Study One - Solvent Recovery

Blue Environmental were approaced in late 2007 by a UK based chemical manufacturing company who were interested in finding more environmentally friendly alternatives for their large secondary product stream.

The 1000 tonnes per annum stream was being dispatched overseas where issues of climate change impact and local waste management practices were in opposition to the company's environmental policy. 

Blue began performing laboratory and pilot plant trials in 2008 within the UK, leading to the first full plant trial later in the year. There were many technical issues to be overcome, including a tendency for the material to polymerise.  Following the trial, the material is now being processed on a weekly basis with recovery rates in excess of 95%. The recovered product is returned for re-use, and the plant residues are also utilised in the production of lower grade product.

In addition to the significant improvement in the company's environmental performance, this new route has resulted in a lower average raw material price, and also savings in packaging and transport costs. 

If you would like Blue to look at your current processing operations with a view to improving your environmental performance, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it