Grantham College updates flooring with recycled plastics

A college is heading for a more sustainable future with its new flooring.

Grantham College, in Stonebridge Road, has replaced its flooring with recycled waste plastic as part of its relocation of its automotive department.

The flooring has been provided by Loughborough-based Abacus Flooring Solutions, which has installed its Abaplas flooring system.

Susan Mumford, Grantham College site manager, said: “We needed a floor covering suitable for automotive use.

“It also needed to cover a concrete slab, previously installed for a now redundant underfloor heating system.

“The work by Abacus Flooring Solutions was undertaken quickly and efficiently.

“The fitters understood the importance of abiding by our contractor rules – particularly as we’ve had summer camps for young people taking place for the duration of the work.

“The team went above and beyond to deliver an excellent service and even included safety hatching as a bonus.”

Last year, Grantham College relocated its automotive department, machinery and equipment from an off-campus venue over one mile away to an existing building on the main site, previously used to teach hydraulics in engineering.

The relocation took more than eight weeks, without any possibility of prepping or repainting the floor before the start of the next academic year.

The flooring system has vastly reduced the amount of plastic ending up in landfill or oceans. It also removed silica sand, which requires a carbon-heavy extraction process.

Nick Megson, of Abacus Flooring Solutions, said: “We are absolutely delighted to support Grantham College with our sustainable surface solution, and we are incredibly impressed by their passion for eco-friendly investments.

“We hope more colleges and universities follow in their footsteps. It is immensely important to us that we tackle the problem of excessive plastic waste in a sustainable manner.”