The company, which is made up of nine expert teams of asbestos removal specialists, has updated and refitted three vans with a specialist box designed to carry asbestos waste safely and securely.
Working for three months alongside a partnering business, the company has developed storage which is fully compliant with HSE standards and tackles the problems previously encountered.
Phill McGurk, Operations Director of Clarkes Environmental, said: “The previous waste storage units used within the industry tended to be make shift and not fit for purpose. As a Licensed Industry I felt we could do something better. We wanted to develop an airtight, secure and cleanable facility that eliminates risks of exposure throughout the transfer of waste from source to our own waste transfer station in Northallerton.”
“We went through a few designs to get the right dimensions, and also went through each stage ensuring that everything we were doing complied with health and safety and government standards. We have fitted a bespoke, negative pressure unit and a Dwyer gauge to a waste compartment for our vans.”
“As a company, our priority is to reduce risk. We are the UK’s second most legislated industry and we have to account for all eventualities. This is why it’s essential for us to continuously look at our health and safety practices and continually making upgrades to ensure the safety of our staff, clients and the general public at every stage of the removal process.”
Phill added: “Safe efficiency is something that we pride ourselves on at Clarkes Environmental. I’ve worked my way up through the industry, from the beginning of my career on the tools, to Director level within the company. I can therefore relate to the problems and time-consuming tasks faced on-site and work to improve upon them.” The company isn’t stopping there, already Phill has plans to work on a new modular decontamination unit.
“I’ve always been interested in R&D, and in this fast-moving age it’s vital for us to be continually developing our equipment. There are a few modular decontamination units on the market at the moment, but like everyone we want to keep costs down and increase efficiency, so we are currently looking at developing our own solutions.”
“Although efficiency is important, our top priority will always be health and safety. Alongside the vehicle upgrades and decontamination unit development, anything that can maintain and improve our standards will be at the forefront of our future business improvement process.”
