Rock Solid is a processor of Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) generated by Energy from Waste plants across both the UK and Europe. Energy from Waste plants are used across the UK to help divert waste from landfill, support a circular economy and contribute towards our ambitions to reach Net Zero.

In 2023, Rock Solid commissioned Blue Marble to conduct a life cycle assessment study to produce an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) on their Incinerator Bottom Ash Aggregate (IBAA) product in the UK.

IBAA is a sustainable and cost-effective manufactured aggregate used in the construction industry which helps reduce the impact on virgin natural aggregate resources.

The work carried out by Blue Marble involved selecting an appropriate product system boundary in compliance with the ‘polluter pays principle’ of EN 15804+A2. This involved separating the IBA processing from the IBAA as material which has reached End of Waste status.

Rock Solid provided very good primary data on its UK operations and Blue Marble completed the life cycle assessment modelling, produced the EPD and oversaw the verification and publishing processes.

Rock Solid intends to use its EPD to support the growth of its operations across the UK.

‘‘Blue Marble served us in a procedural yet accessible way. The step-by-step approach with some technically substantive discussions ensured that the EPD was created efficiently.’ – Ben Visser, Project Leader at Rock Solid

Sam McGarrick

Head of Advisory

Sam joined Blue Marble in January 2022 and heads up Blue Marble’s Advisory division, conducting Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and producing Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) on a range of commercial products. He has experience of conducting LCA in fashion, FMCG, construction, electronics and sustainability sectors.