Approval for Waste Managers’ ‘Environmental Upgrade’

26 January 2010 by Daryl Tunningley

Fareham-based waste management specialist Cleansing Service Group (CSG) has strengthened its position as one of the UK’s leading environmental protection companies after completing an Environment Agency-approved programme of improvements at its long-established Botley site.

The company operates a hazardous waste treatment facility on the site, processing around 20,000 tonnes of oily water wastes a year, collected largely from garage forecourt drainage systems.

The facility separates the oil and water, with the oil treated for re-use as a low grade fuel and the water processed to allow eventual discharge into the sewer.

A site improvements programme, agreed with the EA as part of the Environmental Permit CSG hold to operate the facility, has now been completed at Botley. It ensures that only the most advanced systems are in place to prevent and control pollution.

The permit is a European Union scheme designed to achieve high levels of environmental protection at industrial sites by preventing or reducing harmful air, water and land emissions.

Permit holders are expected to use Best Available Techniques (BATs) to minimise the environmental impact of their activities.

The EA has approved the CSG improvements, and the site has now become one of the first hazardous waste treatment facilities in England and Wales to meet all required agency improvement conditions and operate entirely in accordance with Best Available Techniques (BAT).

Improvement programmes are nearing completion at five other treatment plants operated by CSG.

Group oil treatment plant manager Dave Earl said: “Our entire operation is linked to caring for the environment and we’ve worked very closely with the EA to ensure our Botley site reaches the highest standards of waste management by operating it to the best available techniques.

“We’re now at the forefront of this kind of waste management procedure and we’re confident that the improvements we’re currently putting in place will mean all our other sites will achieve the same standard.”