Working hard to reduce impact

Nov 6 2007 by Karen Wilson, The Journal

NISSAN’S Sunderland plant is constantly working to reduce its environmental impact. The latest scheme is a new waste recycling programme.

The plant’s effluent tank is cleared out once a year and the liquid waste sent off site for disposal.

As part of the company’s Green Programme 2010, waste disposal contractor Initial Industrial Services has been looking at ways to accelerate the plant’s recycling efforts and hired a de-watering unit from a local company.

The unit works by removing the waste from the effluent pit to a holding tank, the de-watering unit then collects the waste and treats it.

The treatment then reacts with the waste and allows it to drain through a fine mesh filter, returning only solid waste for disposal.

Steve Crouch from Initial said: “With the first trial taking place this summer, we’ve seen some encouraging results.

“In 2006 we sent 67 tonnes of liquid waste off-site, this year we removed and recycled 37 tonnes of water leaving only 30 tonnes of waste for disposal.”