Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has brought a waste water treatment plant into operation at its Container Terminal Burchardkai. This plant will enable HHLA to cut the total volume of hazardous waste which it produces by more than 50 percent. HHLA is thereby continuing to pursue its strategy of operating in as environmentally friendly a manner as possible, the company said in its press release.
Klaus-Dieter Peters, Chairman of HHLA’s Executive Board, comments: “We have been committed to sustainability in all of our divisions for a long time now. Careful use of resources and waste reduction are important components of our strategy. By bringing this waste water treatment plant into operation, we have drastically reduced the volume of hazardous waste produced, in particular at our Burchardkai and Tollerort terminals. Especially for a port such as Hamburg, which is situated so close to the city centre, it is essential that all of the players operate in an environmentally friendly way.”
The waste water treatment plant at Container Terminal Burchardkai is HHLA’s second plant of this type. Another plant reduces the volume of waste water produced at its Container Terminal Tollerort. Both plants separate oil and the other fluids which result during cleaning of straddle carriers from water by a physico-chemical process. While specialist firms dispose of the remaining fluid, the cleaned water is collected and reused for cleaning straddle carriers. This saves around 90 percent of the volume of fresh water, which results in twofold savings: the volume of waste classified as hazardous decreases, while considerably less fresh water is required for cleaning. In addition, this means significantly fewer trips to the disposal facilities. This cuts CO2 emissions and reduces the volume of transportation within the Port of Hamburg. It also relieves the city’s road infrastructure.
The Hamburg Ministry for Urban Development and Environment has supported this initiative as part of its “Companies for resource conservation” programme.