Case Study: Estate Cleaners Leicester - Grundon cleans up at big events

When it comes cleaning up after big events, next year Estate Cleaners Leicester will celebrate four decades in the industry. Its first contract was for a Rolling Stones concert at Knebworth House in 1976 and since then its client list has expanded rapidly, now taking in events as diverse as rock concerts, country fairs, stately home events and sports festivals.

And, for good measure, the team still returns to Knebworth House, most recently in 2014 to look after the post-event clean-up for the big Sonisphere rock music concert, attended by some 50,000 fans.

Dave Olley, co-founder and partner of Estate Cleaners Leicester, says being able to rely on good service, a good price and reliability is paramount, which is why he prefers to work with Grundon Waste Management’s Special Events team.

“They are always the first company we contact when asked to quote for a new event and they are very good at coming up with the best solution for disposing of waste, especially when it comes to recycling. We can’t speak highly enough of the service, from the managers through to the operatives,” he said.

“Customers want their events to be handled quickly and to be as green and clean as possible, so being able to offer Energy from Waste (EfW) is a good option. Audit trails are important and Grundon provides us with the tonnage information for us to give to customers who want to know where it goes.

“Even if there is a hiccup, which is often the way with events, then Grundon’s expertise and their operatives’ knowledge comes into its own, enabling us to concentrate on what we do best, which is litter collection.”

Among the events where the two companies work together is Rewind South at Henley, where in 2015, Grundon managed the disposal of over 66 tonnes of waste to EfW. Fourteen eight-yard front end loader containers, plus 90 1100 litre wheelie bins, were installed around the site and, as soon as the bands stopped playing each night, the clean-up began.

Dave and Owen, his son and business partner, then send in a contract team of litter pickers to tackle the mountains of waste, including hundreds of plastic and glass bottles strewn across the main showground areas and, as they filled the bins, overnight Grundon’s Special Events team ensured all the full ones were taken away and replaced with empty ones ready to start again the next day.

As with many of today’s big festivals, the three-day event also attracted plenty of happy campers, adding greater complexity to the clean-up challenge, especially says Dave, when it comes to the final clean-up.

Although where possible some items, such as tents, are salvaged by another external company with for donation to charity, the majority of campsite waste goes into mobile compactors provided by Grundon and is then sent to EfW.

A typical example was 2014’s Sonisphere event, attended by some 50,000 people, 30,000 of whom were camping. After overnight litter picks and a three-day post clean, some 180 tonnes of waste was successfully removed from the site.

With more and more customers keen to take a sustainable approach, Grundon’s ability to deliver essential statistics and reporting information is winning applause all round.