Acumen Waste has completed the removal of 27,000 tonnes of waste from the former Alex Smiles site in Deptford, Sunderland.
The site has been closed since private waste operator, Alex Smiles, went into administration in 2015. It was also the scene of a major fire in May 2018 which took more than three weeks to extinguish.
The clearance project, which was initially estimated to clear around 20,000 tonnes of waste, began in January this year ( see letsrecycle.com story) with the higher figure of 27,000 tonnes the eventual total.
Acumen removed 1,135 loads of waste in January, ensuring most of the site was cleared by mid-March. Acumen added that its crews completed the remainder of the project during the coronavirus pandemic whilst following strict social distancing guidelines.
Sunderland city council, which bought the land in December, will now lease it to crane manufacturer Liebherr, which partly funded the clearance, whose existing business is located next door.
[gallery_placement]‘Dynamic provider’
Andy Crossley, managing director of Acumen Waste, said: “Acumen is pleased to have played our part in the regeneration of this derelict site. To deliver this significant, logistically complex project safely and in such a short space of time is credit to our site team and supply-chain, who worked tirelessly to meet the expectations of Sunderland city council, the Environment Agency and Liebherr.
“We’d like to thank these Stakeholders for choosing Acumen and wish them every success in the site’s onward development. The project itself demonstrates the growth of Acumen as a dynamic provider of complex waste management and industrial site services solutions.”
‘Blight’
Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland city council, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to see this work complete, given the blight this site has been on our city for a number of years.
“I’m delighted to see this work complete, given the blight this site has been on our city for a number of years”
“Its clearance and transformation into a major employment site has long been a goal for both the city council and the Environment Agency. It’s remarkable to see how much has been achieved following our acquisition of the site in December.
“You only have to look at the before and after pictures and drone footage to see the scale of the task ahead when we first took over the site and the spectacular progress that’s been made in a relatively short space of time.”
The post Acumen completes Alex Smiles clearance project appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
