The 700MHz Clearance Programme was a major infrastructure project mandated by UK Government marking the biggest change to the terrestrial TV network since digital switchover. The project began in November 2014 when Ofcom announced its decision to reallocate part of the frequency spectrum used by Freeview for the development of future mobile services.

The large-scale project was managed by Digital UK on behalf of UK broadcasters and required close co-operation with Government and Ofcom, broadcasters and Arqiva, which owns and operates the transmitter network.

iWaste was engaged by Arqiva on behalf of Ofcom to remove the redundant equipment and transfer to our WEEE waste recycling centre for secure disposal.

The extensive project took place over 4 years and involved 45 sites at locations across the UK, starting with the Isle of Mull in Scotland (July 2017) and ending in Ponto Pike, Newcastle (March 2021).

Each location had its own individual challenges relating to access and the complexities of working in a live environment. The phased approach required careful planning and orchestration of the team, including specialist training on how to correctly dismantle equipment whilst adhering to health and safety guidelines.

An average of 4-5 days on-site was necessary in order to decommission each location safely and efficiently which involved careful planning of staff including overnight accommodation and transportation.

iWaste’s specialist expertise and experience with large scale decommissioning of WEEE meant the team was able to construct a detailed project management plan spread over 4 years. This involved preliminary visits to each of the 45 sites where a thorough risk assessment was undertaken.

This highlighted challenges associated with each site and helped to shape a watertight plan for the safe removal of old equipment. Included in this process was the deployment and management of a fleet of vehicles to transport the WEEE to iWaste’s recycling centre in Hampshire. A two-man team based at the centre were responsible for the recycling process which took on average 1-2 weeks for each site.

In order to effectively manage each decommission, an iWaste director was always on-site to avoid risk of danger to self and disruption to the employees working at each location. This provided the client with the peace of mind that the complex project was always handled with maximum efficiency and to the straightest health and safety rules.