Plant nappies and machinery drip protection on site

SSI ENVIRONMENTAL · Site Drainage · Drip Protection · Est. 1996

Plant Nappies and Machinery Drip Protection on Site

Catching drips from parked plant before they reach the ground what a plant nappy does, where to use them, and how they prevent ground and water contamination.

A plant nappy is an absorbent drip tray or mat placed under parked machinery to catch and hold the oil, fuel and hydraulic fluid that plant drips when standing, before it reaches the ground. It's a preventive control: rather than letting minor leaks contaminate the soil and, via runoff or drains, the water, the nappy catches them at source and can be inspected and managed. Plant nappies are used under parked and static plant excavators, dumpers, generators, pumps, compressors during breaks, overnight and at compounds. A significant spill or a fuel store is a separate matter with its own containment.

Why parked machinery leaks

Construction plant runs on oil, fuel and hydraulic fluid, and connections, seals and fittings weep small amounts, especially as machines age. A machine at work moves those drips around; a machine parked drips them in one spot, hour after hour. Multiply that across the plant on a site and a season, and routine drips become a genuine source of ground contamination and, once oil is in the soil or washed to a drain, a water pollution problem. It's a slow, easily overlooked leak of pollutant into the environment.

What a plant nappy does

A plant nappy is an absorbent tray or mat you place under parked plant to catch and retain those drips. The absorbent captures the oil and fuel before it reaches the ground, holding it safely until the nappy is checked and managed. It's simple, portable and reusable within its capacity, turning an uncontrolled drip onto the soil into a contained, manageable one. It's the everyday preventive control for standing machinery.

Where to use them

1. 1
   Under excavators, dumpers, rollers and other plant when parked up.
2. 2
   Under generators, pumps and compressors running or standing static.
3. 3
   In plant compounds and parking areas overnight and during breaks.
4. 4
   Anywhere machinery stands still long enough to drip.

Frequently asked questions

• What is a plant nappy?

  A plant nappy is an absorbent drip tray or mat placed under parked machinery to catch and hold the oil, fuel and hydraulic fluid that plant drips when standing, before it reaches the ground. It's a simple, portable preventive control that keeps routine machinery drips out of the soil and water.
• Where do you use plant nappies on site?

  Under parked and static plant - excavators, dumpers, generators, pumps and compressors during breaks, overnight and in plant compounds, anywhere machinery stands still long enough to drip. They catch the routine leaks from standing plant at source.
• Do plant nappies deal with spills?

  No - plant nappies are for preventing routine drips from parked machinery reaching the ground. A significant spill or a fuel-storage situation needs proper spill containment and bunding, which is a separate matter. Plant nappies are a first line of defence for standing plant, used alongside drain protection and good practice.