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LitterID Service

Actions to tackle litter, Albion Environmental News, Consultancy Services, Environmental Monitoring, Penalties, Recycling, Site Services, Waste Management

Albion is delighted to launch our new “LitterID” service for local authorities in the UK.

Using the latest technology, developed in collaboration with leading universities in the UK, litter can be tested and DNA identified. The test will take place at a lab near our office and takes less than 5 minutes to be completed. Once the test result is available the result is uploaded into our computer system using the latest AI technology to identify the litter culprit. In independent tests of the technology we have achieved an accuracy of 99.9%.

The Benefits to Councils

  • Millions of pounds are spent by councils each year clearing and lifting litter – many believe this money could be better spent on other services.
  • Litter results in degradation of public areas.
  • Littering is a serious blight on our landscape and has a detrimental effect on our tourism industry.
  • The law is clear – under Section 87 EPA 1990 – Littering is a criminal offence, throwing down or dropping an item in any public open space is classed as littering. If a person is found guilty of the offence they can be issued with a fixed penalty notice of £80 or could potentially be prosecuted and risk a fine of up to £2,500.
  • This new technology allows councils to get serious about litter and provide a proper deterrent to littering.

Examples of typical use may be –

  • Officers frequent local pubs and sample and analyse cigarette butts outside pubs – frequently there will be multiple butts discarded so for example 20 butts would generate £1,600 for a few hours work
  • After large events or during summer weather, when for example lots of people visit our lovely beaches but simply leave or discard their litter – councils can gear up with extra officers.  Revenue potential can run into tens of thousands of pounds
  • An interesting option is when councils collect roadside litter, the waste collected can be taken back to a central location, tested and offenders identified! This would require some investment from councils but the testing is so quick and easy that one officer can test an item ever minute resulting in a fine rate of £4,800.

The Process

Albion will provide the following service to local authorities who wish to use this innovative technology –

Provision of sampling and test kits for your officers.

In person training for your officers which will include training on sampling and testing.

In person training for staff who will be authorised to use the AI powered data base to identify offenders and issue fixed penalty notices.

Albion believe this technology will be a game changer for addressing the serious blight of littering in the UK. There will be no hiding place for people who litter. Councils will need to work out policies regarding how this can be implemented. For example serial offenders may find they receive multiple fines but ultimately – if you don’t want a fine – don’t litter – it’s easy!

For further information and costs of this new service in the UK please do not hesitate to contact: info@albion-environmental.co.uk

For any enquiries outwith the UK we are setting up a franchise system so please get in touch, and we can also discuss this option.

Useful Links to Support this:

Litter and fly tipping legislation | Zero Waste Scotland

Who is responsible for litter and fly-tipping? | Zero Waste Scotland

Keep Scotland Beautiful

Responsibilities | Community Litter Hub (keepscotlandbeautiful.org)

Meet the Team – Issue 10

Albion Environmental News, Bioaerosols, Consultancy Services, Environmental Monitoring, Our Team, Site Services, Training, Waste Management

A huge welcome to our newest member of the Albion team Helanna, who joined us this month.

We have been introducing you to the Albion staff over the last few weeks and throughout that time we have been expanding our team. So this week we are introducing one of our newest environmental consultants.

Helanna Cooper

Environmental Consultant

Favourite Quote: ‘Whit’s Fur Ye’ll No Go By Ye’–  I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason.

Job Title: Environmental Technician

Job Role: As Environmental Technician I carry out a variety of environmental monitoring, site investigation, soil assessments and waste analysis work to the required standard and in compliance with H&S and environmental management system including data collation and reporting.

Experience: I have been in the environmental/ construction industry for 7yrs. I started off with the Princes Trust ‘Get into Civil Engineering’ in 2014, then continued my apprenticeship as an Environmental Technician with a local waste disposal company. In 2016 I wanted to further my career in construction and civil engineering. I spent 4 years as an Engineering Technician working along side site engineers, CAD technicians and technical department, preparing and collating information and data to produce AutoCAD maps. I then realised that the environmental/ waste industry was the area I wanted to expand my knowledge and where I wanted to continue my career. 

Favourite part of the job:  My favourite part of working with Albion is that every project is so varied and interesting.

Get to Know Me:I love spending time and making memories with my family and my friends. I would have to say that my favourite season is summer, I love the light nights and mornings – which has its advantages for when you need to get up early in the morning for site.

When I’m not working, you’ll find me… running around with my wild 3 year old son and spending time with my niece and nephews or trying to catch up on with something on Netflix.

You can contact Helanna at: helanna@albion-environmetal.co.uk Or connect on LinkedIn

Dust Monitoring

Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Risk Assessment, Guidances, Site Services

How do you measure dust and why is it important?

Dust Monitoring by Albion Environmental

Particulate Matter (PM) is one of the main forms of urban air pollution, and it mainly includes smokes, soot, and dust. PM is a key indicator of air pollution due to its potential to harm human health. It is often split into PM10 and PM2.5, the latter of which is inhalable (it can penetrate through to deeper parts of the lung compared to PM10, which can only access the lung’s larger airways).

Outside of urban environments, many work activities can create dust, and dust can be an issue in almost any industry. Some of the main industries which can experience dust issues include construction and demolition, certain parts of the food industry, woodwork, as well as waste management.

Waste facilities can generate dust through mechanical grabbers and mobile plants which sort and load waste, and through waste shredding and sieving. Additionally, heavy duty vehicles driving on and off waste sites can generate fugitive dust emissions, which can be entrained onto local roadways. It is important for waste facility operators to minimise the dusts emitted, from and at sites, to avoid legal claims over nuisance. The main motivation for lowering dust generated, should be to protect health.

How can dust affect us?

Dusts come in different sizes, and can be categorized as “inhalable dust” or “respirable dust”, based on their ability to infiltrate parts of the body. Different sizes and types of dusts can have different health effects, though excessive amounts of exposure to any dust can lead to respiratory problems.

If dust is allowed to build up in the lungs, it can cause lung damage, which may result in breathing impairments. Some dusts can be the source of  lung diseases and cancers, and others can lead to asthma, rhinitis, and extrinsic allergic alveolitis. Preventing the onset of dust-related diseases is hugely important, as the chronic effects of dust are often permanent, and can be disabling.

Managing dust in the workplace

The HSE recognises the need to prevent these issues arising by providing plenty of information on dealing with dust at work. Their Dust in the workplace: General principles of protection publication makes it clear that dust exposure must be prevented, or if this is not reasonably practicable, it has to be adequately controlled. If a site’s dusts fall within the definitions of a ‘substance hazardous to health’, then COSHH requirements apply to it, such as the need to assess the risks posed for site staff or visitors, and to ensure exposure is appropriately managed.

If a site monitors the concentrations of dust they emit, or the exposure levels for staff, and finds that there are any health concerns, then they need to implement control measures to mitigate these, at the very least. Control measures for dust can include dust enclosure systems, dust extraction, or water suppression.

Generally speaking, controls should be selected based on the hierarchy of H&S [JB1] controls, which places RPE[JB2]  at the end as a last resort, for example. Sites may also choose to take into consideration the costs, suitability, and ease of application of each control.

What can you do?

Although the UK has a wet climate, the amount of water available could drop by at least 10-15% in some areas by 2050, due to the climate crisis. As such, sites should consider alternative controls to water suppression, or improve their water efficiency through measures such as: water-efficient equipment; harvesting rain-water or re-using grey water; and insulating pipes to prevent leaks. Grants and loans for water efficiency measures can help: www.netregs.org.uk

How can Albion help?

Here at Albion, we can provide occupational dust (and bioaerosol) monitoring surveys, to inform you of the risks for workers at waste facilities. This involves one-day visiting the site, followed by a clear report interpreting the results and providing tailored recommendations on how to manage dust in accordance with COSHH guidance.

Albion Environmental has a number of environmental monitoring specialists, trained to complete a wide range of services within the field of environmental monitoring, including those related to air pollution. Find out more about the environmental work we do here:

Environmental Monitoring

The World of KTP and Bioaerosols

Bioaerosols, Environmental Monitoring, Site Services
How does a Bioaerosol Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) work, and what does it bring to Albion Environmental?

We currently have two KTP Associates on our team who are delivering very different projects. Jennifer Kowalski is delivering a Bioaerosol Monitoring project in conjunction with The Open University and Albion Environmental. As a company, we believe in the power of the KTP program, however it occurred to us that some of you may not know what the program is and how it can bring new innovations to your business. We have asked Jennifer to write this article to explain ‘The World of KTP and Bioaerosols‘.

I am currently the Associate for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between The Open University (a knowledge base) and Albion Environmental Ltd. The fundamental aim of this KTP is to pass on the ability to conduct bioaerosol monitoring to a company (Albion Environmental), by learning from industry experts working at the university. This will help increase UK-wide capacity for this type of work, thereby helping relevant industrial sites ensure that their monitoring can be adequately and promptly completed in-line with any permit or license requirements.

I began my KTP with a background in Biology and environmental data analysis, which provided me with the necessary skills for this role, including: field work experience, extensive data-handling capabilities, stakeholder management, and a background knowledge of waste management. However, I knew very little about bioaerosol monitoring – a very niche aspect of environmental monitoring. Initially, this made my KTP role exciting but challenging, as I developed an expertise in bioaerosol monitoring.

What is Bioaerosol Monitoring?

Bioaerosols are suspensions of airborne particles that contain living organisms (such as bacteria or viruses), or the non-living parts released from them (such as pollen or endotoxins). They can be pushed into the air whenever anything which contains these microorganisms is moved around (for instance, organic waste contains many micro-organisms as they break down this waste, and so bioaerosols are released during organic waste treatment).

Bioaerosols can be harmful to human health, and so it is important that people are not exposed to dangerous concentrations of bioaerosols. Monitoring bioaerosols is the practice of determining what the concentration of bioaerosols is on a given day at a particular site, or for a particular group of people. Once bioaerosol concentrations have been measured, the consultant who conducted the monitoring work can advise on what exactly the concentrations mean and what action must be taken, if relevant.

What does my day-to-day work look like?

As previously mentioned, a major part of my role is passing on the ability to conduct bioaerosol monitoring from a knowledge base to an environmental consultancy. So, an important part of my work is the ability to use different learning methods (such as online research, site shadowing, and training courses) to amass information on bioaerosols and how to correctly monitor them. Thus far, I’ve used my own learning experiences to create a wide range of training resources, from written guides and instructions to online lessons and in-person demonstrations. This has enabled me to pass on bioaerosol monitoring skills to staff at Albion Environmental, so that they can also conduct this work.

Whilst monitoring bioaerosols (mostly on large-scale waste treatment sites), I have been collecting the results to form an extensive and varied Excel database. By searching for patterns within the data, and finding clear ways of presenting it visually, this data will help provide key information on bioaerosol concentrations at different types of organic waste treatment facilities. This will hopefully bring about some new and important findings that will be beneficial to the waste industry, making it a very fulfilling part of my day-to-day tasks.

Another key aspect of my work has been marketing. Over the course of my KTP, I’ve given talks at conferences and during a webinar, and I’ve also written various blogs and other social media posts, in order to disseminate crucial information on bioaerosols. This informs those who work within the waste management industry of bioaerosols, specifically how bioaerosols could be directly impacting them and their work. The marketing materials I’ve created also pinpoint the type of solutions that waste treatment facilities or workers may need to solve their bioaerosol issues, to ensure that adequate action is being taking to protect people from this risk.

Other daily tasks that I complete for my KTP involve project management – for example, generating and providing KTP, InnovateUK and the other partners with regular updates on how the project is progressing; managing and reviewing the various budgets afforded to the project; and making informed decisions on how best to meet the project’s objectives. Due to COVID-19, much of my work had to be re-arranged and adapted, but fortunately I was given much assistance in doing this.

When I am not doing any of this, I am probably participating in meetings or events organised by Albion Environmental, and assisting with other non-bioaerosol related work that they do. The team at Albion have been very helpful in expanding my knowledge and capabilities regarding the vital services that they provide for the waste management sector – whilst also being a very friendly and easy-to-work with bunch!

The overall objective of the KTP role is to equip the staff at Albion with the skills and knowledge required to conduct bioaerosol monitoring projects for their clients and ultimately expand service offerings to include various bioaerosol services. We have been working on some client projects recently, so keep a look out for our first Bioaerosol Case Study coming soon!

To make any enquiries on bioaerosol monitoring you can contact me at:

jennifer@albion-environmental.co.uk

If you are interested in bioaerosol monitoring or other aspects of environmental monitoring, you can see our services here.

Environmental Monitoring