O J Neil Contracting Ltd is one of the United Kingdoms leading application contractors for biosolids to land. Working with the UK’s two largest water companies, the business has extensive knowledge of the industry gained from practical experience and has invested in the latest technology to ensure our customers receive ‘best in class’ service.
UK’s largest fleet of
Vredo
spreaders
Background
Treated sewage sludge, also known as biosolids, has been recycled to agricultural land for many decades in the UK, Europe, the USA and other parts of the world. In the EU it is recognised as the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) in most circumstances, adding plant nutrients and humus-forming material to enrich the soil, and is supported by the UK Government and European Commission.
The treatment process
Sewage sludge is produced from the treatment of wastewater and consists of two basic forms; raw primary sludge (basically faecal material); and secondary activated sludge (a living ‘culture’ of organisms that help remove contaminants from waste water before it is returned to rivers or the sea).
Biosolids can be produced in cake, granular, pellet or liquid form and are spread over land before being incorporated into the soil or injected directly into the soil as liquid by specialist contractors. Application is always completed in accordance with The Safe Sludge Matrix and in conjunction with normal agricultural rotations.
All biosolids currently applied to agricultural land are applied in accordance with The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations and The Code of Practice for the Agricultural Use of Sewage Sludge. These regulations and the statutory code of practice ensure that applications to agricultural land are strictly controlled and that all applications are fully traceable and auditable. All land is tested prior to application and all heavy metal additions are modelled to ensure that levels remain within safe limits as set out in the regulations.
O J Neil Contracting holds contracts with both Thames Water and Anglian Water for the application of biosolids to agricultural land. Using a fleet of self propelled Vredo spreaders we have the ability to spread in excess of 10,000 tons per day. All biosolids are loaded with our own 13Ton Volvo and Hitachi 360 excavators supported by own our internal low loader fleet.
Mike manages our Thames Water contract to apply 355,000 tons of sewage cake per annum from Swindon in the West to the Dartford Crossing in the East. Having been involved in the waste water industry for many years Mike maintains our compliances and ensures we adhere to the Safe Sludge Matrix. He is FACTS registered.
We provide stockpiling services to both utility companies and haulage providers using our fleet of Volvo & Hitachi 13Ton excavators. Using specially built sludge buckets we can ensure maximum volumes are moved with minimum passes. We leave the stockpiles in uniform shape which assists with future operations.
All biosolids are loaded with 13ton tracked excavators. This ensures that even the wettest stockpiles are loaded without damage to the land. Our excavators are moved from stockpile to stockpile using our internal lowloader fleet.
Using a fleet of Vredo self propelled spreaders equipped with 20 Ton Tebbe boxes, we are able to apply biosolids accurately and evenly across a 24m bout. Fitted with large 1050 Michelin tyres, the machines crab up and down the land with each of the four wheels running in separate spacings. All the Vredos are equipped with Trimble GPS auto steering. We can also apply odour control products while applying biosolids to land.
Our service area is shown on this map highlighted in blue.
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