Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
Rubble from a number of areas of Glasgow including demolished flats in the Gorbals are being used in the construction of the new 8 kilometre stretch of the motorway currently being constructed between Carmyle and the M8 at the Kingston Bridge.
The two 23 storey blocks of flats in Stirlingfaulds Place were demolished last year after 35 years providing homes for local people. The material will now take on a new role used as fill in the building of embankments along the route of the vital new transport link for the West of Scotland.
Over 500,000 tonnes of aggregate will be recycled with material also coming from the Sighthill and Royston areas of Glasgow and the former Hoover factory in Cambuslang, a well-known local landmark which once covered one million square feet of the town and which will now form part of the new road on the outskirts of Cambuslang.
Minister for Transport, Stewart Stevenson said:
“With construction and demolition waste making up around half of all controlled waste in Scotland, I am delighted to see the innovative practices being implemented on the M74 project. Upon completion, the M74 will open up opportunities, ease congestion and bring economic benefits to the West of Scotland and it’s fitting that part of the old Glasgow will help shape its economic future.
“The Scottish Government’s overall purpose is achieving sustainable economic growth in Scotland and the reuse of rubble from regeneration and other transport improvements to help build vital new infrastructure is an excellent example of this in practice.”
The use of recycled or reclaimed aggregate is highly sustainable and prevents virgin material being quarried. The practice is covered by a nationally adopted protocol in which the Scottish Government and SEPA are key stakeholders and all materials are subject to chemical analysis to confirm their environmental suitability before they can be used within embankments across the route.
The reuse of these materials is just one of a number of initiatives being undertaken by the contractor, Interlink M74 Joint Venture, to mitigate the environmental impacts of the construction of the M74 Completion which stretches from Fullarton Road Junction near Carmyle to the M8 west of the Kingston Bridge. With several processes in place to minimise waste and maximise reuse covering materials such as aluminium, plastic and paper, 80% of the 1,200 tonnes of waste produced by the project to date has been recycled.
David Welsh, Interlink M74 Joint Venture Project Director, said:
“We take environmental matters very seriously on the project and we are governed by assurances made to the public in the Environmental Statement. Our objective is to take the lead in environmental compliance and promote a sustainable approach in all of our activities.
“A considerable amount of effort and commitment goes into achieving such significant recycling results on a project like this. It involves everyone on the project from the client, designers and planners to those at the workface as well as suppliers and subcontractors.”
The project’s sustainability achievements have been recognised by the awarding of full points for environmental performance by the Considerate Constructors Scheme, a national programme which monitors companies against a code of best practice beyond statutory requirements.A spokesperson for the scheme said:
“Exceptional measures have been taken to ensure a positive environmental performance. Five full time environmental engineers are engaged on site with daily audits recorded providing a comprehensive fully updated performance report. The site and company have implemented initiatives and procedures to ensure that a highly professional image is portrayed in all aspects of the Considerate Constructors Scheme.”
