Norwegian island gets unique floating garbage dock
Waste disposal on a small island without vehicular access can be tricky. But Oslo, Norway’s Kommune Bymiljøetaten (municipal urban environmental agency) and SF Marina came up with a novel solution for Gressholmen- Rambergøya, a popular nature preserve that’s a short ferry ride from the city. A small floating concrete dock houses three Molok® Deep Collection™ trash containers that are emptied from the water using a crane mounted on a garbage collection workboat.
The project uses an SF Marina 4m W x 15m L SF1040 floating concrete pontoon. Highly adaptable to a wide range of applications, they can be modified to meet the needs of virtually any project. With the Gressholmen- Rambergøya pontoon, three holes for the Molok containers were cast into the structure during manufacturing. It was made at SF Marina’s Wallhamn, Sweden facility, shipped to Oslo and then floated to the island.
Used primarily as a dock section, the SF1040 is extremely stable due to its sheer mass and low center of gravity. While the Gressholmen-Rambergøya floating garbage depot is located in a sheltered cove and anchored to the seabed with chains and anchors, SF Marina pontoons are engineered to withstand hurricane-force weather events.
Typically used on land, 60% of a 5m3 Molok container is underground – but in the case of the SF Marina project, underwater. The cool surroundings keep odor-producing bacteria from forming. Plus, because so much of the container is hidden, the receptacle opening is low and can be easily accessed by children and those in wheelchairs. A 6m walkway allows easy entrance to the dock from shore and accommodates the area’s mild tidal fluctuation.
Each Molok container’s cover has a reusable inner sleeve that holds the refuse. The crane lifts the lid and contents, swings it over to the boat, and a worker pulls a rope that opens the bottom to spill the trash. Because of the containers’ large capacities, 80% fewer emptyings are required over standard-sized waste receptacles.
