| Helping to reduce an environmental disaster - Holcim France-Benelux |
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Description In December 1999, the oil tanker Erika was shipwrecked off the coast of France - spilling thousands of tonnes of oil onto fragile Brittany beaches. Holcim France-Benelux was engaged to be part of the Erika waste-recovery solution. |
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Objective The Holcim AFR team needed to demonstrate the expertise that they had acquired over more than 15 years in the field to win the contract to feed around 20,000 tonnes of pre-treated sludge (limed and pressed) into the kilns at Obourg and Rochefort. |
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ActivitiesThe sludge was a final residue of the processing of waste recovered from the shipwreck. More than 400 kms of coastline were affected. Big storms not only hampered clean-up operations but contributed to the extent of pollution. From 19,000 tonnes of oil spilled, around 300,000 tonnes of waste was collected. The clean-up focused on channels that could recover the waste, either its material or energy content. The first shipment was received at Obourg in January 2003. The AFR team had undergone both a rigorous selection process and close scrutiny of the technology in action. The dedication and hard work by the team at Holcim France-Benelux, in conjunction with Corporate Industrial Ecology's AFR experts, was instrumental to Holcim winning the contract. |
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Results It is clear that our AFR solutions enable the Group to respond to growing demands from industry and local authorities for waste treatment across an ever-widening range of applications. Respect for the environment and a commitment to sustainable development underpin our know-how, while our AFR policy provides the strong and responsible principles to guide behavior. There are many Holcim employees on the ground who contribute to such success stories, which have an impact far beyond the cement plant boundaries. Efforts such as these make a lasting contribution to the health of the planet - a clear case of sustainable development in action. |
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