Sep 3, 2026 · 34 min · 8 segments
In this episode, CEO Francis Norman and General Manager Rean Gilbert are joined by Kelly Smith, Group Head of Environmental and Decommissioning at ASCO, to explore the complexities of waste management…
Kelly SmithGuest
Francis NormanHost
Rhian GilbertHost
I think for waste management, so many people leave it as like a line item on a separate work scope and they don't treat it as a project in itself.
So especially for decommissioning, what we often see is the engineering is the bit that gets all the, it's the sexy bit, shall we say, it's the bit that gets all the focus and the attention.
And then waste management is quite often just a bit shoved into that work scope rather than something separate in its entirety.
And I think absolutely that's the lesson that we should be applying is treat it as something separate, plan around it.
And I guess that will give you a bit more surety because you've got people who are focused on that and who have the skills and knowledge and expertise to really manage that waste from start to finish.
Scrap, scrap steel and metal is naturally one of the biggest in terms of volume because we're getting rid of these large structures.
Subsea, there's lots of concrete in terms of concrete mattresses that's used as pipeline protection.
And then we get some more of the exotic type wastes such as norm, which is naturally occurring radioactive material.
And then any kind of oils, chemicals, asbestos, perhaps, depending on the age of the assets.
So for us, it's always the start of whatever we do is what circular economy principles can we apply? Can we reuse it? Does it even need to be a waste in the first place? When it comes to decommissioning, that's maybe a little bit more challenge because a waste by definition is something that someone's trying to get rid of.
And then you're looking at perhaps can you recycle it? And you kind of go through that playbook before you get to the disposal at the end.
I think for waste management, so many people leave it as like a line item on a separate work scope and they don't treat it as a project in itself.
So especially for decommissioning, what we often see is the engineering is the bit that gets all the, it's the sexy bit, shall we say, it's the bit that gets all the focus and the attention.
And then waste management is quite often just a bit shoved into that work scope rather than something separate in its entirety.
And I think absolutely that's the lesson that we should be applying is treat it as something separate, plan around it.
And I guess that will give you a bit more surety because you've got people who are focused on that and who have the skills and knowledge and expertise to really manage that waste from start to finish.
Scrap, scrap steel and metal is naturally one of the biggest in terms of volume because we're getting rid of these large structures.
Subsea, there's lots of concrete in terms of concrete mattresses that's used as pipeline protection.
And then we get some more of the exotic type wastes such as norm, which is naturally occurring radioactive material.
And then any kind of oils, chemicals, asbestos, perhaps, depending on the age of the assets.
So for us, it's always the start of whatever we do is what circular economy principles can we apply? Can we reuse it? Does it even need to be a waste in the first place? When it comes to decommissioning, that's maybe a little bit more challenge because a waste by definition is something that someone's trying to get rid of.
And then you're looking at perhaps can you recycle it? And you kind of go through that playbook before you get to the disposal at the end.
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