R Disposal Systems

Contents

R1 DRAINAGE
R10 Rainwater Pipework/Gutters
R11 Foul Drainage Above Ground
R12 Drainage Below Ground
R13 Land Drainage
R17 Rainwater Harvesting, Filtering And Storage
R2 SEWERAGE
R21 Sewage Treatment Sterilisation
R3 REFUSE DISPOSAL
R30 Centralised Vacuum Cleaning
R31 Refuse Chutes/Bin Stores
R32 Compactors/Macerators
R33 Incineration Plant

R10 Rainwater Pipework/Gutters

CONSIDER:
• Alternative materials eg:
- Uncoated galvanized steel.
- Aluminium with high recycled content (and uncoated makes it more recyclable).
• Rainwater harvesting See R17.
• In addition to roof drainage use inverted green roofs which store water on the roof within the soil, reservoir layer and within the plants themselves, taking some of the burden from the drainage systems in surge conditions. See J4.

• SUDS: Sustainable Drainage Systems: Water stored on roof:
- Where there is concern that the main sewer in the street will not allow for the whole load of rainwater from the roof/s to drain directly it may require attenuation.
- The roof and rainwater drainage system design can be used to limit the flow of water to the main street sewers.
- The roof and gutters and outlets can be designed as a storage reservoir with the number, type and size of outlets being specified to achieve the following:
- Category 2 storm-water design.
- Storms up to and including a 1 year return (75 mm./hour intensity) the primary outlets will pass the total volume of water falling on the roof.
- Storms up to and including a 90 year return (210 mm./hour intensity) the primary outlets will still only pass the equivalent of the 1 year return storm, the excess water being allowed to build up in the gutter or on the roof and to discharge in a controlled manner as the storm recedes.
- Storms in excess of a 90 year return the primary outlets will still only pass the equivalent of the 1 year return storm, the excess water being allowed to build up in the gutter or on the roof and to discharge in a controlled manner as the storm recedes.
- Excess water can be designed to discharge directly through the parapets via weir slots or gargoyles to fall clear of the façade.
- The exceptions are: the party wall situations which must be detailed to provide a weatherproof seal to parapets and any vertical masonry joints.
- Alternatively a series of secondary standing outlets may be used in the gutter sole (again discharging clear of the facade) whilst still maintaining the controlled 1 year return storm flow through the primary outlets
- Allowance must be made in secondary outlet/slot sizing at lower roof levels if water from upper roofs discharges over onto lower roofs.
- Roof perimeter upstands, gutters and flashings must be high enough and/or sealed to achieve full watertight integrity and must pass a standing water test to replicate design conditions, this must also test the downpipes and below ground drains, for the total head pressure.
- The receiving rainwater installation will be designed as a gravity fed system (conventional) roof drainage.

VORTEX REGULATION:
• Where there is concern that the main sewer in the street will not allow for the whole load of rainwater from the roof/s to drain directly into it, attenuation may be required, especially if syphonic drainage system is used, as this will speed up drainage flow.
• A solution is to use large pipes under the ground floor to hold some of the drainage load and then regulate the flow into the main sewer.

AVOID:
• PVC See Z50
• Virgin plastics, See Z50

R11 Foul Drainage Above Ground

CONSIDER:
• ABS piping and Polypropylene piping are better.
• Glass, Clay, Cast Iron, Copper, Stainless steel are good.

AVOID:
• PVC See Z50.
• Virgin plastics, See Z50.
• Solvent welded joints.
• Soldered metal joints.

R12 Drainage Below Ground

CONSIDER:
• Clay pipes in clay soil are best.
• SUDS See R10.

RECYCLE:
• Masonry not suitable for reuse could be crushed and used as hardcore soakaways or filter drains.

AVOID:
• PVC See Z50.
• Virgin plastics, See Z50.
• Solvent welded joints.
• Soldered metal joints.

R13 Land Drainage

CONSIDER:
• Urea as a substitute for road salting
• Reed-bed filtration systems
• Gabion walls in reed-beds for high surface area for beneficial bacteria growth
• SUDS: Sustainable Drainage Systems which store rainwater surges and allows this to percolate into the ground instead on into the sewers

RECYCLE:
• Masonry not suitable for reuse could be crushed and used as hardcore soakaways or filter drains.

AVOID:
• Road salting as this is aggressive towards metalwork in landscape.
• Surface water drainage straight into sewers, waterways or lakes, especially from roads and hard standing .

R17 Rainwater Harvesting, Filtering And Storage

CONSIDER:
• Rainwater harvested from roofs (not paving) can also be a source of water for toilet and urinal flushing, plant irrigation, car washing.
• Bird droppings are less of a problem than dog poo
• Energy can be extracted from rainwater, especially if collected from high thermal mass (pebbles) roof coverings
• Rain water butts.

REUSE:
• Rainwater harvesting storage from reused plastic juice containers etc.

R21 Sewage Treatment Sterilisation

CONSIDER:
• On site autonomy.
• Living machines for blackwater processing (require large toilet use for viability, e.g. Earthcentre Doncaster and BedZED).
• Reed-bed filtration systems for output from living machines.
• Gabion walls in reed-beds for high surface area for beneficial bacteria growth.

AVOID:
• Foul water drainage straight into sewers.
• Cesspits which only store on-site for collection and treatment off-site.
• Settlement tanks which only store on-site for collection and treatment off-site but allow liquid to discharge to land drains.

R30 Centralised Vacuum Cleaning

CONSIDER:
• Central vacuum system in domestic/hotel/holiday accommodation buildings, outlets in skirting or dado rails, pipes built into walls and floors.
• Carry hose to rooms, connect hose to outlet in wall, brush dust to skirting intake.
• Electric motors need Green Tariff electric supply.

R31 Refuse Chutes/Bin Stores

CONSIDER:
• Visitors to the UK are often surprised by the low level of waste segregation.
Germans, Dutch and Australians are used to anything up to 10 bins in their kitchens.
• Waste segregation at the kitchen sink.
• Minimum 3 bins: under kitchen sink and 3 bins outside.
• Compostable, Recycleable & Waste.
• Compostables should include green waste from garden and landscape, raw vegetable and fruit cuttings, egg shell, nut shell and husk from the kitchen. It can include paper and cardboard, human hair, nail clippings and urine and can include 100% natural fabrics.
• Plate scrapings are biodegradable but not compostable domestically. Although plate scrapings may be suitable for feeding birds and wild life, it is discouraged.
• Commercial composting will be done in sealed vessels where heat generated avoids bacteria transfer and permits greater range of waste to be composted.
• Waste segregation bins and temporary storage.
• Many bins, colour coded lid and body combinations, segregation for reuse and recycling
• Lids:
- Lockable type to be selected, for lids with apertures.
- Coloured to match base, or contrasting to add colour combinations for different contents.
- Aperture: to suit contents.
- Labels indicating contents:
• Bin store signs for guidance and educational opportunity.
• Bin store material could be: 100% recycled HDPE High Density Polyethylene, UV stabilised, Recycleable.
• Onsite storage of recycleable materials: especially exhibit packaging and protection.
• Commercial developments: storage and compaction for returning to packaging producer or recycling:
- Paper, cardboard, polyethylene, expanded polystyrene (and dissolvable or biodegradable starch substitutes), plastic bottles, tin cans (aluminium and steel), plastic vending cups.

PACKAGING:
• Packaging often includes cardboard, polyethylene and expanded polystyrene.
• Packaging Responsibility Regulations requires the supplier to take responsibility for waste.
• Packaging can be returned to the supplier or collected by them.

AVOID:
• Single bins not allowing segregation or reuse and recycling.
• Virgin plastics in bins.
• Special segregation bins without a normal waste bin adjacent.

R32 Compactors/Macerators

RECYCLE:
• Human waste products (faeces) can be composted via composting toilets and composting chambers.
• Recycled sewage can make ‘Rocket fuel for trees’.

AVOID:
• Systems that use heat to dehydrate sewage use considerable amounts of electricity.

R33 Incineration Plant

ALERT:
• Incinerating materials is the penultimate choice of waste disposal - only co-disposal in landfill is worse.
• Incineration can lead to toxins being released into the atmosphere.
• Incineration squanders resources.
• Incineration without heat recovery is inappropriate.

CONSIDER:
PACKAGING:
• Packaging often includes cardboard, polyethylene and expanded polystyrene.
• Packaging Responsibility Regulations requires the supplier to take responsibility for waste.
• Packaging can be returned to the supplier or collected by them.

REUSE:
Segregation and recovery of materials to return to producers for reuse or recycling is a better option.

AVOID:
• Incineration of resources that could be reused, reclaimed or recycled.
• Incineration of materials including plastics.
• Incineration of plastics and others creating toxins when burnt at lower temperatures.