Situation
Waste Management is New Zealand’s leading provider of waste disposal services. Its purpose is to collect, transport, treat, recycle, recover and dispose off residential, commercial, and industrial waste. They operate facilities throughout the country dedicated to storing and processing all sorts of waste, from ordinary residential to liquid and hazardous waste.
In one of Waste Management facilities is a pond used for collecting water generated during the waste dewatering process. Recently, there has been an increase in waste inflow which raised the capacity requirement for the pond. This required for the pond to be modified to keep up with the inflow and improve the efficiency of its dewatering capacity.
Solution
The modification of Waste Management’s existing pond involved dividing it into to separate halves and adding an end extension. To do this, they considered a few options:
- Box-pour method
- Pre-poured tilt slab
- Interbloc Modular Wall System
Waste Management found the Interbloc Modular Wall System to be the ideal solution for this project. The box-pour method was prevented by the existing pond’s central wall height, while using pre-poured tilt slab proved too costly.
Using the Interbloc Modular Wall System allowed for the pond to be modified easily and cost-effectively. The system was quickly assembled despite the challenging environment of the pond. The installation process simply involved lifting the blocks into the pond using the lifting anchor and assembling them in the pond using a forklift. Ross, Waste Management’s Production Supervisor described the installation of the system an “easy, hassle free process”.
Benefits
Apart from the efficient installation process provided by the Interbloc Modular Wall System, Waste Management also obtained extra benefits for using Interbloc.
The modular quality of the blocks, along with its lifting anchor component, allowed for the structure to be safely installed. “Safety is held as our highest priority and value at Waste Management”, said Ross.
Furthermore, the modular quality of the blocks also provides Waste Management with the option to modify the pond in the future without any major construction.
Waste Management was also able to reduce their environmental footprint by using Interbloc’s Modular Wall system. Interbloc as a supporter of the Envirocon Product Stewardship Scheme provided them with environmentally sustainable products, which is line with Waste Management’s purpose of tackling New Zealand’s waste.
