Brett Martin’s Rooflights Provide a Safe Solution for Suez’s Rebuilt Recycling Plant

BRETT MARTIN’S Safelight GRP rooflights have been installed alongside photovoltaic (PV) panels at one of SUEZ’s recycling plants, as part of an extensive rebuild and upgrade.

The Aberdeen based facility was particularly re-assured by the robustness of Safelight 40mm GRP, which is classified as non-fragile meaning it can be installed without additional safety railings. The installation has cut costs, without compromising on safety for the plant’s maintenance staff.

SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, a global leader in water and waste management, operates the Aberdeen recycling facility that forms a key element of the city council’s recycling network. After a large fire in 2022 caused widespread destruction of the plant, there was a desire to rebuild and take the opportunity to enhance it – in line with the council’s ambitions to maximise the value extracted from waste.

Consequently, a £30 million project was launched to repair the structure and equip the site with state-of-the-art equipment that would enable 60,000 tonnes of recyclable waste to be processed every year.

Key to the new design proposed by architects MacLeod Jordan was the inclusion of both rooflights and roof mounted PV panels. In combination these would maximise the amount of natural light in the space, reduce the need for daytime artificial light and ensure the plant could generate its own renewable energy.

Safe Solutions

When considering the roof, a number of solutions were discounted before Brett Martin was approached. With the safety of the maintenance teams tasked with the upkeep of the PV panels top of mind, Safelight 40mm Double Skin GRP was ideal.

The heavyweight GRP panels are specifically designed for applications where frequent or unlimited access to the roof is required. With a Class B to ACR[M]001 non-fragility rating, there is no need for additional safety railings to be installed around each rooflight – removing a time consuming and costly process.

With a long lifespan of over thirty years, Safelight panels offer an excellent long-term solution for industrial projects of all kinds. Thanks to their ‘diamond’ surface, they are resistant to both mechanical weathering and UV radiation, all while retaining excellent diffused light transmission.

What’s more, with its archive of historic roofing profiles and the ability to create custom moulds, Brett Martin was able to match the shape of the Kingspan RW Composite Panel used for the roof. This created a seamless in plane finish and aided installation.

“The results speak for themselves,” commented Ian Oliphant, Regional Sales Manager at Brett Martin. “SUEZ wanted to create a recycling centre that maximised resource efficiency so letting in lots of natural light was essential. In addition, they hoped to maximise the use of renewables by utilising the large roof area of the plant for solar panels. With traditional GRP, this would be hard to achieve but our Safelight sheets have demonstrated that you don’t have to choose between natural light and solar power in industrial projects, if you use the right products, you can have both.”

Colin Forshaw, Production Operations Manager for SUEZ, commented, “Environmental sustainability is a core value for SUEZ. Alongside supporting our customers towards a more resource-efficient circular economy, we want to ensure that the infrastructure and facilities which we operate are focused on that same goal. Brett Martin have done a fantastic job with the rooflights and PV panels on our new Aberdeen recycling facility, managed on behalf of Aberdeen City Council, making them an integral part of the overall roof design while also benefiting the environment through sustainable and clean energy production.”

Find out more about Brett Martin’s rooflight sheets.

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