GB2403200A

GB2403200A - A method of disposing of building waste

Info

Publication number: GB2403200A
Application number: GB0416637A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Daryl Beech
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-11-28
Filing date: 2000-11-28
Publication date: 2004-12-29
Also published as: GB2369339A; GB0416637D0; GB2369339B; GB0029031D0

Abstract

A method of disposing of building waste on a site at which building or construction work is being carried out comprises the steps of: assembling a plurality of frame structures from a plurality of portable frame sections (2,4,6,8, Fig 2); attaching a flexible containing means (36,Fig 5) within each said frame structure such that the flexible containing means are held open; and sorting waste to be disposed of into the plurality of flexible containing means. The flexible containing means are then removed from the frame structures for disposal of the waste which has been placed into the flexible containing means, wherein the waste in each respective flexible containing means is disposed of in a manner suitable for that waste. The plurality of frame members may be fixed together during assembly by removable pins.

Description

74020.611 Support Frame The present invention relates to a frame for

supporting flexible containing means, such as for example, sacks holding building materials or waste disposal sacks.

One specific type of flexible containing means known in the art are flexible bulk containers and these are used for example in the bulk supply of building materials such as cement and aggregates.

WO99/57041 discloses a bag holder for use in a machine for filling flexible bulk containers. The frame provides a means of supporting the containers during filling which at the same time allows the containers to be removed from the machine relatively easily once they have been filled.

WO96/41754 discloses a frame support structure for flexible bulk containers from which material is to be dispensed, the frame being collapsible as an integral unit to form a smaller space for the container once it has been emptied.

GB2336147A discloses a frame for supporting a substantially non-rigid container, the frame comprising a base, a plurality of side panels and a lid, wherein the side panels may include cross members configured to facilitate the lifting of the frame using a fork lift truck.

AU534334A discloses the provision of a cylindrical vessel for holding a fluent material, in the form of a flexible tank supported by a framework comprising a circular upper horizontal member, a circular lower horizontal member and a plurality of vertical supports extending between the horizontal members.

It is known in the art to provide building materials such as aggregates for use on building sites in flexible bulk containers or, more specifically, one - 2 tonne builders' sacks. These sacks are delivered to site and are then emptied either by shovelling the aggregates out of the top of the sack or tipping the sack up to pour out its contents.

It has been realised that as the sacks are flexible structures, it is difficult to remove all the aggregates from the sacks as they begin to sag as they are emptied.

Thus, the present invention seeks to overcome this problem by providing a frame for supporting the sacks such that they are easier to empty.

From a first aspect, the present invention provides a frame structure for supporting flexible containing means, the assembled frame structure comprising a plurality of legs which are fixed in spaced relationship to one another by cross members, and the frame structure being made up of a plurality of portable sections which can be manually assembled and disassembled.

The fact that the frame structure is made up of a plurality of portable sections means that it can be easily transported between one site and another.

Preferably, the portable frame sections may be carried by one person so that for example they may be easily lifted into and out of the boot of a car.

The portable sections could for example be assembled by a construction worker linking or slotting them together. Preferably the portable sections are fixed together when assembled by means of removable pins. This allows the sections to be fixed together very quickly and easily in accurate alignment to one À another. Further, as the pins are removable, the sections can be disassembled equally easily.

Preferably the frame structure comprises first and second portable sections each comprising two legs joined together by a substantially horizontal cross member, and a third portable section comprising a further cross member for joining the first section to the second section. - 3

Preferably the frame structure further comprises a fourth portable section comprising a further cross member arranged to extend opposite the third section such that, when fully assembled, the frame structure is substantially rectangular in plan.

Still more preferably, the frame structure further comprises means for holding the flexible containing means open when attached to the frame in use. In this way, the flexible containing means can be held open by the frame structure so as to allow easy access to the interior of the flexible containing means, whether to remove the contents of the flexible containing means or to place items into it.

The means for holding the flexible containing means open in use could be rings provided on the legs of the frame structure about which ties provided on the flexible containing means could be secured. However, this would require the user to tie each of the ties to the rings which would be relatively time consuming.

Further, the user might not tie the ties as securely as required and this could lead to the flexible containing means becoming detached from the frame structure during its use. Preferably therefore, the means for holding the flexible containing means open in use comprise lugs provided on the outer faces of the legs for engaging with loops provided on the flexible containing means.

This provides a quick and straightforward means of attachment as the user need only pull the loops down over the lugs so that they engage under them.

If the lugs are immovably fixed to the legs then the loops could be difficult to pull over the lugs due to the weight of material in the flexible containing means. Consequently, the lugs are preferably rotatable about a horizontal axis passing through their point of attachment to the legs. Therefore in use, the lugs are rotated to face upwardly, the loops are passed over them and the lugs are then rotated back to face downwardly, thus holding the loops underneath them. This arrangement allows the loops to be attached to the lugs relatively easily and yet to be the right length to pull the edges of the flexible containing means out towards the sides of the frame structure once the lugs have been rotated into their locked position.

The legs of the frame structure could be vertical or substantially vertical. However, the frame structure should ideally be stable even when installed on uneven surfaces and should also be capable of carrying substantial weights. Preferably therefore, the legs are arranged to slant outwardly relative to the vertical when the frame structure is assembled so as to increase the stability and weight bearing capacity of the frame structure.

To achieve this stability, the legs should be arranged to slant at an angle of up to 15 to the vertical.

A better degree of stability will be achieved however if the legs are arranged to slant at an angle of between 2 and 8 to the vertical.

In an even more preferred arrangement, the legs are arranged to slant at an angle of about 5 to the vertical.

As discussed above, one use of the frame structure of the invention is in dispensing building materials.

Thus, from a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of dispensing building materials comprising the steps of supporting flexible containing means containing building materials within an assembled frame structure as described above such that the flexible containing means are held open so as to provide easy access to the contents thereof, and dispensing the building materials by any suitable means.

In one use the building materials can be manually removed from the top of the flexible containing means using a shovel or other device. - s -

Alternatively, one side of the flexible containing means can be split after it has been attached to the frame, thus allowing the building materials to flow out of the flexible containing means. This will provide side access to the materials which in some cases may be preferable to removing the materials from the top of the flexible containing means.

Preferably, the frame structure is a four sided structure having cross members extending across three sides thereof, and the fourth side of the frame structure is open to provide easy access to the flexible containing means to be slit.

Preferably after the flexible containing means has been emptied, or if no further materials are required, the flexible containing means is removed from the frame structure and the frame structure is disassembled ready for re-use on a different site. As the frame structure is made up of portable sections, it can easily be moved to wherever it is next required. Further, in a preferred embodiment in which the frame sections are each relatively narrow in the third dimension, the frame sections can be stored easily as they take up much less space than a fully assembled frame.

Preferably, the frame structure is assembled at a site where building or construction work is being carried out. Thus, the disassembled frame can be easily transported to the site before being assembled when required for use. The flexible containing means could be placed into the frame structure after it had been assembled at the site. Alternatively, the frame structure could be assembled around a flexible containing means containing building materials which had previously been deposited at the required location on the site. This has the advantage of allowing the frame structure to be attached to the flexible containing means containing building materials wherever the flexible containing means has been deposited. Thus, - 6 there is no need to use expensive handling equipment to move the flexible containing means when attaching the frame to them.

The method of dispensing building materials from a flexible containing means which is supported by a frame is considered to be novel and inventive in its own right and so, from a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of dispensing building materials comprising the steps of supporting flexible containing means containing building materials within a frame structure such that the flexible containing means are held open, and dispensing the building materials by any

suitable means.

In the known method of supplying building materials in flexible bulk containers or one tonne sacks, the containers are not reused once they have been emptied on site. However, it has been realised that these containers are made of relatively good quality, strong materials such that they could potentially be reused rather than being disposed of as is presently the case.

This in turn has led to the realization that frames according to the invention could be used together with sacks such as for example, reusable flexible bulk containers or one tonne builders' sacks as alternative waste disposal means, for example as waste disposal means for construction waste.

Currently, the majority of construction or other waste such as household waste is placed in skips which are removed from site when full and emptied into land À fill sites. These skips are relatively large, heavy items and so it is often difficult or impossible to place a skip on the construction site where it is to be used. Consequently, a skip may be located some distance from the construction site such that the waste to be disposed of must be transported from the site to the skip. This is time consuming and inconvenient.

Further, as skips are often located in public places, - 7 they can present a danger to the public both by blocking thoroughfares and due to their contents. Using a frame according to the present invention, a waste disposal method which overcomes these problems is provided.

From a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of waste disposal comprising the steps of assembling a frame structure as described above, attaching a flexible containing means within the frame structure such that the flexible containing means are held open, and removing the flexible containing means from the frame structure for disposal of waste which has been placed into the flexible containing means.

The use of a frame structure in a method of waste disposal is considered to be novel and inventive in its own right and so from a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of waste disposal comprising the steps of assembling a frame structure from a plurality of portable frame sections, attaching a flexible containing means within the frame structure such that the flexible containing means are held open, and removing the flexible containing means from the frame structure for disposal of waste which has been placed into the flexible containing means.

Another problem with skips and other similar waste disposal means is that all types of waste are placed into the same skip and the whole contents of the skip are then emptied into a landfill site. This does not allow for the possibility of segregating waste so as to keep recyclable and nonrecyclable waste separate and so is neither cost effective nor ecologically sound. Using a plurality of frame structures of the invention to support a plurality of separate waste disposal sacks however, a waste disposal system which overcomes these problems can be provided.

Preferably therefore, a plurality of frame structures with flexible containing means attached - 8 within each respective frame structure are provided, waste to be disposed of is sorted into the plurality of flexible containing means and, after removal of a flexible containing means containing waste from a frame structure, the waste in that flexible containing means is disposed of in a manner suitable for that waste.

This is advantageous as some types of waste are less expensive to dispose of. For example, materials such as soil, bricks and rubble are less expensive to dispose of than plastics waste and so, by sorting the waste and disposing of it in a manner more suitable for that type of waste, waste disposal can be made more cost effective.

Preferably, the method further comprises the step of disassembling and removing the or each frame structure when no longer required. Thus, the frame structure(s) can then be reused at another site.

Preferably recyclable waste is sorted into one or more flexible containing means separately from other types of waste so that it can be retained for recycling.

Preferably the or each bag or flexible containing means to be used with the frame structure or methods described above is a flexible bulk container.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a frame according to the invention; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the frame of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an exploded top plan view of the frame of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a detail of a joint in the frame of Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a perspective view of the frame of Figure 1 with a sack attached to it.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the present invention provides a substantially square frame for supporting flexible containing means and, in particular, one tonne sacks for builders' materials. The frame is made from lengths of hollow steel tubing which are painted to provide a degree of corrosion resistance.

The frame is made of four separate sections which are portable and can be quickly and simply assembled on site. The first section 2 consists of a first horizontal cross member 4 with a leg 6,8 welded to either end thereof. Each leg extends below the cross member at approximately 5 to the vertical to give good stability and weight bearing characteristics to the frame when fully assembled. The legs also extend substantially vertically above the cross member for a short distance and rubber disks 10 are provided in the hollow tops of the legs so that there is no risk of a person cutting themselves on a sharp open edge at the top of a leg.

At the base of the legs, horizontally extending flanges 12 are provided which again will serve to improve the stability of the frame when fully assembled.

Each leg is formed of a single length of steel tubing with an aperture formed in a side thereof to receive the end of the cross member 4. The leg and cross member are joined together by fillet welds (not shown) around the circumference of the cross member.

A second horizontally extending member is provided on each of the legs at the same height as the cross member and at right angles thereto. The second horizontal member is again attached to the leg through an aperture formed in the side thereof and fillet welds are provided around the circumference of the horizontal member to secure it in place. The second horizontal members provided on the first and second legs are much shorter than the cross member. In the specific embodiment shown in the figures and as shown most clearly in Figure 3, the second horizontal member 16 on the first leg 6 is slightly less than one third of the length of the cross member 4 and the second horizontal member 18 provided on the other or second leg 8 is just over one tenth of the length of the cross member.

The joint between the second horizontal member 18 and second leg 8 is shown in Figure 4 and includes fillet welds 20 as described above.

The second section 22 of the frame, as shown in Figure 3, is a mirror image of the first section as described above. Thus, the same reference numerals have been used for corresponding parts.

The third 24 and fourth 26 frame sections consist of a respective horizontal cross member 28,30, each being just slightly shorter than the distance between the first 6 and second 8 legs of the first frame section 2. Each of the cross members and horizontally extending members of the frame are formed from single lengths of steel tubing in the same way as the legs of the frame.

The inner diameter of the tubing of the horizontal cross members 28, 30 of the third and fourth sections is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the other frame parts. Thus, the other horizontal members can fit inside the horizontal cross members of the third and fourth sections.

A hole 31 is formed through the wall of each of the cross members 28,30 of the third and fourth frame sections at either end thereof and corresponding holes 33 are provided in the second horizontal members 16, 18 provided on each of the legs. A pin 32 is provided adjacent each of the holes in each cross member and is secured to its respective cross member by a chain 34.

Thus in use, the frame is assembled by inserting the longer of the second horizontal members 16 of the first frame section 2 into one end of the cross member 28 of the third frame section 24. Similarly, the longer of the second horizontal members 16 of the second frame section 22 is then inserted into the other end of the - 11 third frame section cross member 28 and the first and second frame sections are pushed together until the holes in the cross member line up with the holes on the second horizontal members. The pins 32 are then inserted through the lined up holes at either end of the cross member so as to lock the first and second frame sections to the third section so that a square shaped frame having a continuous bar across three sides thereof is provided.

Depending on the way in which the frame is to be used, the fourth frame section can be attached to the frame or not as required. If the fourth frame section 26 is required, then the shorter second horizontal member 18 of the first frame section 2 is inserted into the first end of the fourth frame section cross member and the shorter second horizontal member 18 of the second frame section 22 is then inserted into the other end of that cross member. The first and second frame sections are then pushed together until the holes in the cross member 30 line up with those in the second horizontal members 18 and the pins 32 are then inserted to lock the fourth frame section to the first and second frame sections. The frame then comprises a square frame which is closed by a horizontally extending bar on each of its four sides.

The frame is used to support flexible containing means and, in particular, one tonne builder's sacks 36.

These sacks are substantially cubic in volume with an open face 38 at the top thereof. A loop 40 or handle is À provided at each of the four corners of the sack and these loops are traditionally used in transporting the sacks as they can be tied together to keep the sack closed or, when lifting the sack, can be held in the hook of a crane.

In use, the one tonne sack is placed inside the frame with its open end 38 facing upwards and each of its four corners aligned with a respective leg 6,8 of - 12 the frame. This can be achieved either by assembling the frame and then lowering the sack down into position within the frame or, more preferably, by first delivering a sack to the site and then assembling the frame around it when the contents of the sack are required. It will be appreciated that as the frame has no base, there is no need to lift the sack while assembling the frame around it. A lug 42 is provided on each leg of the frame for engaging with one of the loops on the sack. The lugs consist of a retaining portion 44 which extends diagonally outwardly from the outside of the leg, a portion 46 arranged to extend horizontally through first and second diametrically opposite apertures in the leg and extending from one end of the retaining portion, and a further portion 48 extending ar an angle to the horizontally extending portion at the side opposite the retaining portion. Thus, the lug is held to the leg in such a way that it can be rotated about the horizontal portion thereof.

Before the sack is attached to the frame, the lugs 42 are rotated so that the retaining portions 44 face upwardly towards the top of the frame. Each of the four loops 40 of the sack is placed over a respective leg of the frame so that it extends outside of the retaining portion of the lug. The retaining portions are then rotated until they face down towards the base of the frame such that the loops are held between the retaining portions and the legs of the frame. Once a sack is attached to the frame in this way it will be firmly supported by the frame. The provision of rotatable lugs as described above greatly simplifies the fixing of the loops 40 of the sack on the frame.

One use of the frame and sacks is for the storage and dispensing of building materials on site. Thus, in one use, the frame is assembled around a one tonne sack of aggregates so that the fourth section is left out, thus leaving one open side on the frame. The sack is - 13 then attached to the frame. When the aggregates from the sack are needed for construction work, the sack can be cut open along the side corresponding to the open side of the frame. Ideally the sack is cut along the length of its corner seams at the two corners adjacent the open side of the frame. This will allow the aggregates to flow out of the sack.

Alternatively, the fourth section of the frame can be included in the assembled frame and a sack full of aggregate can then be secured to the frame in the same way as described above. The frame will allow the sack to be supported in a way that the top of the sack is held open giving ease of access for a user wishing to remove the aggregates from the top of the sack for example by shovelling them out.

In an alternative use of the frame of the invention, flexible containing means supported by the frames can be used for storage of waste products. This could for example be very useful on a building site where many different types of waste including elements such as rubble, loose pieces of metal and wood, plastics materials and so on are produced. Traditionally all such waste is collected in a skip and is disposed of by dumping the entire contents of the skip into a landfill once the skip has been filled. This has the disadvantage that waste such as rubble which is potentially recyclable is placed in landfills thus taking up limited landfill resources and at the same time wasting recyclable resources. Thus, various environmental disadvantages are associated with the use of skips for waste disposal. In addition skips are very large heavy items which are relatively difficult to transport and cannot easily be used on small sites with limited access. For this reason, skips are often seen in the road outside houses where building work is being carried out. This results in congestion of the road and is also inconvenient in that waste must be transported - 14 from the site to the skip out in the road.

Using the flexible containing means and frames of the invention in contrast, a number of empty flexible containing means supported in frames can easily be set up even on relatively small, limited access sites. In contrast to a skip which must be lifted into place by a crane, the frames can be transported for example in the boot of a car and then carried to their installation site by one person. The assembly of the frames is very quick taking only a few minutes and again, this can be done by a single person. The flexible containing means which are preferably one-tonne builders' sacks are then attached to the frames.

Different types of waste are placed in different sacks so that for example, rubble could be kept separate from other types of waste, each sack of rubble having a re-sale value providing potential income rather than needing to be disposed of. The frame of the invention is strong and stable enough to allow a ramp to be attached to one of the cross members thereof. The ramp could for example be a plank of wood resting against the cross member so that wheelbarrows full of waste could be wheeled up the ramp and the contents tipped into the sack within the frame.

When a sack is full of waste or is no longer required, a waste disposal contractor collects the sack and disposes of it in the most appropriate manner.

Depending on the weight of the waste within the sack, the sack could either be removed from the frame by À disassembling the frame and then manually lifting the sack into a vehicle or, if necessary, the loops at the corners of the sack could be attached to automatic lifting means such as a crane.

For some types of waste, the contents of the sack would still be emptied into a landfill but other types of waste such as rubble could be sold on for reuse.

This has the dual advantage of reducing the volume of - 15 waste being deposited in landfill sites thus providing a more environmentally sound waste disposal system and increasing the profitability of waste disposal as less charges for waste disposal at landfill sites will be payable by waste disposal contractors. The profitability is further increased if certain materials such as rubble are sold for re-use thus generating additional income.

It will be appreciated that the specific embodiments of the invention described above are not intended to be limiting, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims.

Thus for example, although the frame of the invention has been described as being used to support sacks of building materials on site and also in a waste disposal system including a plurality of frames, the skilled person will realise that the frame of the invention could have many other uses and so the frame is not limited to a frame for the specific uses described.

Further, although the preferred frame described above is substantially square in plan, the frame of the invention encompasses frames of other shapes such as for example, triangular or pentagonal frames.

Claims

74020/001.611 Claims 1. A method of disposing of building waste on a site

at which building or construction work is being carried out, the method comprising: assembling a plurality of frame structures from a plurality of portable frame sections; attaching a flexible containing means within each said frame structure such that the flexible containing means are held open; sorting waste to be disposed of into the plurality of flexible containing means; and subsequently removing the flexible containing means from the frame structures for disposal of the waste which has been placed into the flexible containing means, wherein the waste in each respective flexible containing means is disposed of in a manner suitable for that waste.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of frame sections are fixed together during assembly by removable pins.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the frame structure is assembled from first and second portable sections each comprising two legs joined together by a substantially horizontal cross member, and a third portable section comprising a further cross member for joining the first section to the second section.
4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the frame structure comprises a fourth portable section comprising a further cross member arranged to extend opposite the third section such that the frame structure is - 17 substantially rectangular in plan when fully assembled.
5. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising the step of disassembling and removing the or each frame structurewhen no longer required.
6. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein recyclable waste is sorted into one or more flexible containing means separately from other types of waste so that it can be retained for recycling.
7. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the flexible containing means to be used is a flexible bulk container.
8. A method of waste disposal substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.