Environmental Policy

1.Our commitment

Drains lead to rivers. Everything we clear, flush or dig up ends up somewhere. So at Urgent Drainage Solutions Ltd we do drainage work in a way that prevents pollution, cuts waste and avoids needless travel, and we meet all the environmental laws that apply to our work.

2.Waste and our duty of care

• We follow the waste duty of care. Waste from our jobs, like silt, debris, broken pipe and dug-out spoil, is stored safely, described correctly and only handed to people who are authorised to take it.
• Anyone who carries waste as part of their business must be registered with the Environment Agency. If a contractor removes waste for us, we check their registration on the public register first.
• Liquid waste and sludge that needs a tanker goes to permitted treatment sites, through licensed contractors.
• Clean spoil gets reused on site where it’s suitable. Inert materials go for recycling, not landfill, wherever we can manage it.

3.Preventing pollution

• Surface-water drains and road gullies often run straight into streams and rivers. We never wash dirty water, sewage, silt or chemicals into them.
• When we jet or clear a foul drain, the debris goes down the foul system to the treatment works, or we collect it. It doesn’t end up on gardens or roads.
• We carry spill kits and deal with any spill straight away.
• If we spot pollution in a river or stream, we report it to the Environment Agency incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60. We’d encourage everyone to do the same.

4.Fat, oil and grease (FOG)

Fat, oil and grease poured down the sink is one of the main causes of blocked drains and sewer “fatbergs”. We clear grease build-up from drains and give kitchens advice on grease traps and good habits. Waste grease from traps is taken away by licensed contractors. It isn’t washed into the sewer.

Read our guide to keeping your kitchen sink clear of fat, oil and grease, and see our commercial drainage services for restaurants and takeaways.

5.Water and chemicals

• High-pressure jetting uses water. We pick the lowest pressure and flow that will do the job, and we never leave hoses running.
• We try mechanical methods first. Chemicals only come out when they’re really needed, and then we pick the least harmful one that will work.
• Relining resins and other materials are stored, mixed and used as the manufacturer’s instructions and safety data sheets say.

6.No-dig repairs

If a damaged drain is suitable, we’ll recommend no-dig relining or patch repairs rather than digging it up. Relining usually means much less digging, fewer skips and lorry trips, and less mess in gardens, on driveways and around trees. When digging is the right answer, we keep the hole as small as we practically can.

7.Travel and vehicles

• We book our diary by area to cut the miles between jobs across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire.
• Our vans are serviced regularly, and we don’t leave engines idling on site.
• When it’s time to replace vehicles and equipment, we’ll look at lower-emission options.

8.Paperless working

Bookings, confirmations, quotes, CCTV reports and receipts are sent digitally and kept in your customer account. We print very little.

9.Helping customers prevent problems

A lot of blockages can be avoided. We’ll tell you what caused yours and how to stop it coming back: only flush the 3 Ps (pee, paper and poo), bin wipes and cooking fat, and keep gutters and gullies clear. Our guide to what not to flush and planned maintenance help prevent repeat call-outs.

10.Review

We review this policy at least once a year, and whenever our services or the law change. Got an idea for how we could do better? We’d like to hear it. Contact us using the details on this page.