For too long we landscapers have rested on our laurels in the often naïve belief that because we are building gardens and putting plants in the ground we are defacto-sustainable as is. A move towards more native and suitable plantings is a positive trend, but a lot of what goes on under the hood of a new garden or the finishes the client selects, can have a huge environmental impact. Not to mention the compounding effect of inefficient materials useage combined with a built landscape that is a net-negative to the local environment.
We are committed to creating a new normality in the landscape construction industry that is centred on taking accountability for our materials by closing the loop. Committed to protecting and promoting the environment and in our pursuit of achieving Climate Active carbon-neutral accreditation later this year we've invested in new equipment and processes that have already had an impact.
Earthworks and excavation are themselves large disturbances to the immediate environment but the huge transport costs (both financial and pollution) associated with the disposal of site cut material only increases the effect. To top it off, we then import soil (more money and more pollution) to remediate the area afterwards. The difficulty in manually or sifting through some of the piles dug up to separate the different components increases tipping costs and deters effective waste management.
But as an industry we can no longer afford to pass the buck - it's time to flip the script and change how we handle our materials by accepting responsibility and being accountable for where they end up.
The FlipScreen is the latest weapon in our climate-fight arsenal. Manufactured in Wagga Wagga, this world-leading screening bucket ticked all of our boxes and attaches right onto our existing SVL bobcat.
Fresh off the shelf. Thanks to Flip Screen for personally delivering from Wagga Wagga.
We are now equipped to screen and separate materials and soil for refinement and reuse without moving literally thousands of tonnes of material off and onto site (less money, less pollution!).
At our recently completed Worchester Park Fire Rehabilitation Project for the City of Whittlesea (read about that here), we were able to screen over 250 cubic meters of existing site soil from rock, debris and green waste and reuse it in the landscape. The screened excess materials were separated using the different sized screening mesh attachments that are easily changed over. This further refinement ensures that as much salvageable material is retained while the unusable material is already separated for appropriate disposal or stockpiling.
We're excited to further incorporate this attachment into our existing resource management approach as all industries begin to look long and hard and contribution to environmental damage. We already offset our vehicle emissions by planting native biodiverse forests through Greenfleet but know that much more needs to be done.
In action at our Wilton Vale Wetland project for the City of Whittlesea
Turns up a few ear worms too...