Integrated Materials Solutions Ltd (IMS) is an award-winning environmental company specialising in waste management and circular economy solutions, including resource recovery and waste reduction.
Strategically located just off the M1 in north Co. Dublin, IMS provides a wide range of environmental services, including complete construction waste management, concrete recycling, environmental monitoring and dewatering, so you can be sure your on-site construction and demolition is fully compliant, and maximises the potential of your site.
IMS was established in 2017 by Cian O’Hora – who has over 20 years’ experience in the waste and environmental sectors – with the aim of changing the way construction and residual waste is managed in Ireland. The EPA licensed and NSAI certified company has grown to employ 10 people and boasts and a nationwide client-base which includes Veolia, BAM, Dublin City Council, Meath County Council, Fingal County Council, J Ryan Haulage, Enva, Hegarty Demolition, Sisk, Walls, M&N, Coffey, PJ Hegarty & Sons, JJ Rhatigan, Shannon Valley Group, Irish Water and Tinnelly Group.
“We’ve had a great first five years of growth and are now the largest specialist construction and residual waste management company in the country,” Cian enthuses.
“We carry out environmental services across the country and assist customers with removing and managing their waste. We offer unrivalled waste management solutions to the construction, demolition, commercial and industrial sectors as well as to local authorities.
“We’re adaptive and provide services that are affordable. When a company partners with us, they can rest assured that we’re fully compliant and won’t cost them a fortune. We try to be as efficient as possible in everything we do.”
IMS operates the only engineering landfill in Co. Dublin (formerly operated by MEHL) under EPA Waste License W0129-02. The Hollywood facility accepts a range of waste types for disposal and recovery. The company’s expert staff are on hand to ensure their customers’ waste management requirements are met in a compliant and economic manner. At IMS, they are mindful of the community in which they operate and aim to be proactive and to regularly engage with local stakeholders, residents and businesses.
The main services provided by IMS relate to waste management, ‘Greenstone’, Japanese Knotweed biosecure disposal and Site Services, which includes environmental monitoring, dewatering and onsite material management and classification. When it comes to waste management, the company offers tailored solutions for the management of construction and demolition (C&D) residual and other materials at waste stage. The IMS team provides assistance on waste handling, minimisation and classification as well as organising and overseeing waste removal and haulage of inert and other waste types, including non-hazardous and hazardous materials through their strategic partners.
‘Greenstone’ is Ireland’s first-ever recycled aggregate which sees IMS divert construction waste from landfill and turn it into a valuable resource. The product was brought to the market in early 2020 after IMS was granted an End of Waste decision from the EPA to allow recycling of waste concrete into secondary aggregates. Certified by the NSAI, ‘Greenstone’ comprises a number of material types for use in bound and unbound aggregate application in civil engineering and road construction projects.
With IMS becoming the first Irish company permitted to produce recycled aggregates, it can now address the situation and help the Irish construction industry to move to a more circular economy. The company invests heavily in research and development in this area and also supports a number of third level students and courses who are leading the way in circular economy development, including Atlantic Technology University, Trinity College Dublin and Technical University Dublin.
The benefits of ‘Greenstone’ are manifold, but the key one comes from the result of the life cycle carbon assessment carried out. The independent assessment proved that the product’s carbon footprint is 95% less than that of primary aggregates. This proves that using ‘Greenstone’ as your aggregate on construction has a significant impact on CO2 emissions. The product is CE marked and comes with NSAI Certification as well as an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).
“There are many benefits to ‘Greenstone’,” Cian points out.
“The material can be reused on the site, e.g. replacing new roads, and can significantly reduce truck movements of waste out and material in. It also prevents landfill or backfill of waste concrete, keeps materials and their embodied carbon in the loop, reduces the need for extraction of primary materials and also reduces environmental impacts associated with extraction, including biodiversity loss, landscape and traffic.”
He continues: “Since we launched ‘Greenstone’ a couple of years ago, 200,000 tonnes of concrete have already been diverted from landfill. In other European countries, they have been recycling construction waste into new products for a number of years, so we decided to follow in their footsteps.
“We get our waste concrete from a number of different suppliers. A lot of the big companies are looking at sustainability and the life cycle of their materials, so we see it very much as a growing area for us. We recently supplied Coffey to a large road project in Dublin.”
Last year, ‘Greenstone’ was honoured at the Pakman Awards in the “Innovation in Waste Resource Products or Service Award” category. The Pakman Awards are the national environmental and sustainability awards that recognise excellence in recycling and waste management among businesses, organisations, community groups and initiatives in Ireland. The product was also a winner at the recent PwC Business Post Sustainable Business Awards.
In addition, IMS provides the only licenced facility in the greater Dublin area for the off-site biosecure disposal of Japanese knotweed. Japanese knotweed is an aggressive and fast-growing species that has been designated as an Invasive Alien Plant Species (IAPS). The species was imported into Ireland in the 1800s as an ornamental plant and has now spread to all parts of the country. It has a vigorous rhizome (root) system that can extend up to seven metres wide and three metres deep.
The knotweed is capable of damaging built environments by exploiting cracks and weaknesses in tarmac and paving or mortar as the rhizome root system extends in search of moisture. The problems it causes to the floral environment are even greater, damaging biodiversity and increasing flooding risks as the plant wins out over native species.
Now that Invasive Species Surveys have become a planning application requirement in many local authority areas, this service is vital to many developments.
Furthermore, the IMS team can assist in identifying your project’s requirements and propose integrated, cost-effective and sustainable logistics solutions. The company offers a competitively priced comprehensive solution in full compliance with all relevant regulations.
As IMS continues to go from strength to strength, its affable Managing Director would like to take this opportunity to thank its clients and suppliers for their continued support as well as staff for their hard work, dedication and expertise.
Integrated Materials Solutions Ltd
Hollywood Great,
Nag’s Head,
Naul,
Co. Dublin,
A41 YE92.
Telephone: 01 8433744
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.imsirl.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, December 2022, Vol 8 No 12
Integrated Materials Solutions
