Queen's Island, Belfast, headquarters of Northern Ireland Science Park, was once the centre of Northern Ireland's ship building and heavy engineering sectors.

As with most brownfield developments, the 25-acre site was subjected to a degree of pollution - not least from the timber preservative used during the construction of the Titanic and her sister ships.

 
To tackle the issue the Science Park adopted a sustainable approach to waste management developed by Ecomesh Ltd and QUESTOR. The system works by isolating material in a leak proof, self sealing vertical container which usually provides 33% more capacity than normal landfill sites. Bacteria already present in the material is stimulated by heat and this causes the bacteria to aerobically break down waste by circulating oxygen throughout the container.

Importantly, the process can be applied on site, avoiding the more expensive and environmentally unfriendly approach of 'dig and dump'. It also benefits from a low energy requirement that can be met through the use of solar or wind power.