Award-winning papers in 2017

The George Stephenson Medal, presented to the second best paper published in all the ICE journals, was awarded to Cross (2017).

The Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project in Essex, UK, is transforming 670 ha of farmland back to coastal marshland. A total of 98% of excavated material from the Crossrail project in London has been recycled and reused, with almost half being shipped to Wallasea Island – more than 3 Mt. Up to six ships arrived daily at Wallasea, unloading 8000 t of excavated material. A total of 2400 shiploads of material were delivered, removing the requirement for 150 000 haulage lorry movements from London's roads. The recycled excavation material has been used to raise land levels at Wallasea by ∼1·5 m to create Europe's largest wetland nature reserve. The project includes an innovative flood defence system incorporating new seawalls to protect vulnerable coastal areas from flooding. Partnering with nature conservation charity RSPB was a key part of Crossrail's sustainability policy. The project provides an excellent example of the circular economy in the built environment, where construction materials have been reused in high-value conservation project providing benefits for both people and wildlife.

The Thomas Telford Premium Prize, presented for the best paper published in Waste and Resource Management, was awarded to Zhang et al. (2016).

To help prevent disposable nappy (DN) solid waste, the Women's Environmental Network developed the ‘Real Nappies for London’ (RNfL) scheme. In partnership with local authorities (LAs), RNfL promotes the use of real nappies (RNs) within nine boroughs of London, preventing the use of 4290 DNs per child, from new born to 2·5 years of age. The scheme issued a voucher to residents who registered, redeemable for the average value of £45 against the purchase of RN products. Over a period of 4 years from 2012 to 2016, RNfL issued 4192 vouchers, of which 3188 were redeemed, resulting in 3145 t of DN waste prevention. The 2012–2016 performance equated to a combined LA saving of £320 791 based on an average landfill tax of £84/t and disposal cost of £18/t across LAs in England. Cost to LAs for RNfL voucher processing is £28 690 (£9/voucher), achieving a cost-effective ratio of 1:11. RNs are a valuable waste-prevention tool working at the top of the waste hierarchy, in LAs. The resident network, built by the RNfL scheme, also provides a channel for LAs to communicate important waste messages to residents at low to no cost.