Landfill Cap Drainage

Pozidrain, Haulbowline Island Capping, Cork, Ireland

Project Information

Project Description

Cork County Council's East Tip is located on the Haulbowline Island near the town of Cobh in Ireland. The site was a dumping ground from the former Irish Steel factory and a highly controversial and unsightly legacy of the industrial past.

In 2005 the Haulbowline Island site was found to be in breach of the Waste Framework Directive. The European Commission accepted Cork County’s proposed remediation strategy for this environmentally sensitive site.

The Sirius Group and P.J. Hegarty & Sons designed and constructed this complex restoration project for Cork County Council. The project was awarded the Best National Engineering Project of the Year 2019.

The Challenge

The Lower Harbour and the town of Cobh are leading tourist attractions and popular cruise destinations. The visual impact of the East Tip with a huge volume of unsightly waste in the vicinity was unacceptable and detrimental to this top tourist destination.

A comprehensive risk assessment for the remediation of the East Tip and capping of 650,000m3 of industrial waste was required to transform this steelworks site into an outstanding public recreational amenity.

The requirement was to design and construct a capping system that maximised use of the existing materials and would meet all environmental constraints in difficult marine conditions.

The Solution

Remediation of the East Tip required a highly complex design solution and engineering works in the ecologically sensitive marine environment of Cork Harbour.

The Sirius Group designers worked with ABG to develop a geosynthetic capping solution that would provide adequate protection, drainage capacity and frictional performance to ensure slope stability. ABG Pozidrain 6S250D/NW8 and 6S250/NW8 geocomposite drainage layer was specified and installed on top of the 1mm LLDPE textured membrane with 1m of soil cover. The project was delivered on time and below budget. Cork Harbour has been completely transformed by the remediation of the East Tip with excellent benefits for the local residents and a positive impact on society.

ABG Pozidrain geocomposite drainage layer