Reigart and the Environment

Reigart Contracts Ltd takes its duty of care to the environment very seriously. Our commitment to the responsibility works across a number of areas including awareness and training in environmental regulations, recycling and waste management and community projects. Not only do we comply fully with all environmental legislation and work in an environmentally conscious manner to recycle as much as we can from demolition projects, but we also engage in a variety of environmental projects with partner organisations and the wider community.

Here are a few examples of recent environemental activities:

WAMITAB – Reigart currently own and operate two licensed waste management and recycling facilities

WAMITAB was established in 1989 with a remit to determine and advise on policy and standards of education, qualifications and training for all employees in the Waste Management Industry. WAMITAB is the awarding body for the waste management industry in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and joint awarding body, with SQA, for qualifications in Scotland.

Reigart Contracts operates two state-of-the-art recycling and waste management facilities at Hornock Road and Drumcavel, both of which have been licensed by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). Managers have the required WAMITAB certifcation to operate these facilities.

WRAP – Reigart  exceed recycling targets

Reigart Contracts Ltd are currently one of three contractors operating on a partnering (framework) arrangement with Glasgow Housing Association, Britain’s largest social landlord. Primarily due to their working knowledge and successful partnership in the demolition of similar premises in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, and their ability to effectively undertake the segregation of demolition materials off-site, they were awarded the contract at Gairbraid Avenue. As part of the quality submission and at the contractor evaluation stage of the framework competition, GHA established the contractor’s proposals with regards to recycling. Though no recycling targets were set, GHA generally require their contractors to recycle as much of the demolition arisings as possible in order to achieve recycling rates of over 80%.

Reigart were able to demolish each individual blocks, using 360o tracked excavators with mechanical sorting grabs. The debris was segreated by machine into stockpiles of timber, metal, brick and concrete. Due to the close proximity of existing occupied residential premises, and with a view of minimising time on site, all demolition materials were transferred to Reigart's Drumcavel recycling facility  for further processing, crushing, screening and ultimately reuse in various applications. Since there were no contractural time constraints  at the Drumcavel Recycling Facility,a recovery rate of almost 80% was achieved from the material delivered from this project.

Conservation strategy - Protecting the great crested newt at Drumcavel Quarry

In developing this site for environmentally responsible recycling, Reigart has set-aside special accommodation for an important group of the quarry's long-term residents – the great crested newt. The great crested newt is the largest of the three newt species native to the UK, and they have been given the highest level of legal protection for wildlife under both British and European law, due to a serious decline in their population and destruction of their habitats.

Since anecdotal and historical evidence suggests Drumcavel Quarry supported a large population of Great Crested Newt Triturus Cristatus, we decided to commission Heritage Environmental Ltd to prepare a conservation strategy for great crested newt in January 2005 in order to safeguard and enhance the existing populations within Drumcavel Quarry. We then created an amphibian reserve to ensure that the newts and other amphibians were properly protected from our active recycling operations. The work involved enhancement of two ponds and the creation of three new ponds. A series of flooded ruts and scrapes were created concurrently with the pond restoration/creation process. It has a permanent amphibian proof wall, which is open to the surrounding countryside on its northern and western borders to prevent genetic isolation of the Drumcavel population. In addition, the existing amphibian hibernation habitat of the reserve was augmented by the provision of an artificial hibernaculum. Reigart has committed itself to managing the reserve under a ten-year Environmental Management Plan.

Local Partnership Agreement with St Augustine’s Primary School

Reigart recognises the need for organisations to become involved in the idea of developing Enterprise in Education and has therefore committed to support St Augustine’s Primary School by giving the school access to our technical and professional personnel.  Together we have identified a number of projects that will form the main elements of the support the company will supply to the school. One of the most important of these is to provide the school with support with the Eco curriculum and particular their desire to achieve accreditation under the Eco-Schools initiative.

Eco-Schools is an international award programme that guides schools on their sustainable journey, providing a framework to help embed environmental principles into the heart of school life. It is free to register with the Eco-Schools programme and after this schools follow a simple seven-step process which helps them to address a variety of environmental themes, ranging from litter and waste to healthy living and biodiversity. With our experience in recycling and waste management and biodiversity, Reigart are extremely well-placed to help advise the school as they progress up the awards system towards the highly coveted and externally assessed Green Flag award.