Stockpiles - The Answer

The answer is to keep the rain out - then there are none of these problems of stockpile movement and leachate etc.  Keeping rain out has been difficult until now but “Air-beam Roller Stockpile Cover” (ARSC) answers all the issues.  ARSC can be made in sizes to suit your requirements.  ARSCs are made from high performance HDPE/LDPE laminate geotextile using specialist HF welding technology.  The geotextile is rated for at least 5 years’ external use.  An ARSC for a 25 m x 25 m stockpile only weighs about ¼ tonne.  The picture sequence on page 3 shows its use.  When the airbeam is inflated it is a rigid cylinder.  The beam has low rolling resistance because of its large diameter, which means that it can be rolled across the stockpile easily.  It only takes 2 people about 15 minutes to roll out the cover and the same time to roll it up.  Rolling means that the cover is not smeared with the material in the stockpile and that it is not ripped if the stockpile contains sharps.

ARSC covered stockpiles are contained and secure; they look professional, eliminate odour and maintain quality so they are easy to spread.  ARSCs are quick to deploy and recover, they are reusable and inexpensive.

ARSC reduces haulage and spreading costs: stockpiles can be sited on more sloping ground or closer to housing than otherwise; this makes more land available.  
ARSC improved quality - in a trial, when the ARSC was taken off a stockpile of digested dewatered biosolids after one month (May-June 2004) when the air temperature had peaked at 28.8ºC (83.9ºF) the surface had dried to 28.6%DS from 20%DS and the Escherichia coli content in the surface was only 1.85 log10 per gDS; deeper in the stockpile it was 3.69- 4.07 log10.  ARSC can usefully be part of a HACCP-designed treatment protocol.

What does ARSC cost? - the prices of ARSCs depend on the sizes and quantities ordered so please contact TIM EVANS ENVIRONMENT to discuss your requirements and ask for a quotation.  Even with conservative assumptions, ARSC only adds £1 / m3 to the total cost over 5 uses and that’s before offsetting savings in haulage, etc.  The breakeven compared with containment with straw bales (which are much less effective) is less than 2 uses.  Using an ARSC is always less expensive than straw incorporation.