Wiltshire Council is always seeking ways of improving its service to the community while at the same time remaining as kind to the environment as possible. So when Wiltshire Council was introduced to the Smart Sponge® technology (SST) with its synthetic polymers used for removing hydrocarbons and oil derivatives from surface water, we decided to trial the product.

The various tests demonstrated just how the technology built into the Smart Sponge® system offered an easy solution to the problem many local authorities face when dealing with gully waste and the ever-increasing costs associated with its disposal. Currently Wiltshire Council disposes of gully waste by way of landfill, which has environmental and cost implications.

Wiltshire Council undertook its own year long trials that clearly show that financial savings can be made by the reducing the volume of contaminated waste as the Smart Sponge® transforms captured pollutants into a solid waste for recycling as a Waste to Fuel energy or as landfill waste. In addition this also had a significant reduction in environmental impact!

Water quality samples and weight of SS were taken every three months from each test gully over a 12 month period. Eight road gullies and one interceptor had PAH values averaging 8500ppm. The PAH levels have decreased over this 12 month period to under 1ppm. To date, the trial has clearly proven that SS reduces the level of PAH in contaminated surface water run-off, far exceeding EU legislations criteria. In the future, Wiltshire Council is aiming to recycle the spent SS as a waste to fuel energy, which burns at 10 – 18,000 BTU per pound. In the immediate future we are installing Smart Sponge® technology in all of the depots we use to tip out gully waste.