Latest News: The Environmental Benefits of Steel Sheet Piles

June 5th, 2020

The Environmental Benefits of Steel Sheet Piles

Ahead of World Environment Day (June 5), Sheet Piling (UK) Limited thought it a good time to reiterate the various environmental benefits associated with steel sheet piling – the reasons why some clients specifically choose our solution rather than those using concrete or other materials.

Here are the environmental benefits of steel sheet piles that we came up with:

1. Steel sheet piles can play a part in the reuse and recycle process. When only required on a temporary basis, steel sheet piles can be easily installed and then extracted. From there, they can be reused on other projects and, at end of life, they can be recycled.

2. This sort of pile is also used to protect parts of the environment, such as shorelines, areas subjected to coastal erosion and flood plains, holding back water that could cause widespread flooding and environmental damage.

3. Containing environmental damage is another use of steel sheet piles, which can be used around brownfield contaminated sites, to ensure contaminated soil does not affect the wider area.

Brownfield Decontamination Environmental Benefits of Steel Sheet Piles
Reservoir Repair Environmental Benefits of Steel Sheet Piles

 

4. Steel sheet piles can also be used within reservoir structures, to help hold water back in cases where Victorian structures are crumbling or cracking. This helps prevent widescale environmental damage, which would occur if such a structure gave way. Sheet Piling UK is something of an expert in this type of reservoir repair project.

5. A lesser-known use of steel sheet piles is as a noise defender. Steel sheet piles, when fitted alongside busy highways and roads, can act as a noise barrier, preventing noise pollution from affecting nearby residents and workers. Additionally, when using one of Sheet Piling UK’s silent and vibration-free piling rigs, noise pollution around construction sites can also be prevented.

6. Using steel sheet piles, instead of boring to install concrete piles, reduces the environmental damage around the site where a project is taking place. Little or no spoil rise occurs when installing steel sheet piles. The same cannot be said of concrete.

7. When using our unique long-reach telescopic leader rig for sheet pile installation within infrastructure widening projects,such as smart motorways, we are able to significantly reduce the environmental damage around the areas in which we are working. As the rig (TM 12/15 LR) has a reach 3 metres longer than any other rig available, we have no need of a temporary platform, on which to stand it, in order to reach the piling area. This means less disruption to the flora and fauna living in and around embankments

Long Reach Sheet Pile Installation
Environmental Benefits for Thames Water Eel Screen

 

8. In some locations, architects have used corroded steel sheet piles as a deterrent against graffiti artists, reducing what many people would see as aesthetic pollution.

9. And finally, perhaps a more unusual use of sheet piles is that of protecting European eels – yet we have done it. By installing screens on the Thames, we were able to help prevent European eels – an endangered species – from swimming into pumping stations, keeping them happily moving down the river.

With all these environmental benefits to steel sheet piles, we are sure many more projects could be boosting their green credentials by using them. If you wish to know how we could deliver the most environmentally sensitive solution for your construction, civil engineering or road or rail infrastructure project, please call us on 01772 794141.

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NOTES TO EDITORS
Sheet Piling (UK) Limited is one of the UK's leading piling contractors. Owning and operating a comprehensive range of specialist piling equipment Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd also carry extensive stocks of new and used piles enabling rapid reaction to any urgent requirements or emergency situations.