The Environment
Agency today announced that Welsh business
VION UK has been included in the short-list
for this year’s Water Efficiency Awards.
The Water Efficiency
Awards is the leading scheme in England
and Wales for recognising the achievements
of organisations who have reduced their
environmental impact by becoming more water
efficient.
VION UK serves as an
example to other businesses and has demonstrated
how to reduce cost and environmental impact.
Their water minimisation
project proves that green business is good
business and that by implementing sustainability
measures cost savings can be made. Envirowise,
the Government-funded programme to help
businesses with the sustainable use of resources,
estimates that UK companies could save £9
million a day through simple water efficiency
measures.
VION UK has been nominated
for the Water Save Award which recognises
practical measures that save water and money.
VION UK, a poultry processing
site in Anglesey, completed an Envirowise
water audit which led them to implement
a water minimisation project. Their standard
1’’ hoses were replaced with pressure washers
and lances; this ensured three times less
water was used with the same results.
Additionally, water
pressure within the factory was reduced
as a whole. Some sprays in the second row
of Featherators (water machines which remove
feathers) were switched off as deemed unnecessary
and the relocation of packing room to the
source of collection has ensured large amounts
of water are no longer necessary to carry
the product to the packing room.
As a final precaution,
the company now regularly monitors the volume
of water used telemetry to read their main
water meter and use manual readings of sub-meters
installed around the site. These initiates
have ensured a 19% of water savings in the
12 months since their audit, and large financial
savings.
Ian Barker, Head of
Water at the Environment Agency said: “It
is vital that businesses remain committed
to reducing their environmental impact by
becoming more water efficient through this
difficult economic period.
“The organisations short-listed
are shining examples for other businesses
to follow. This year’s awards have seen
entries of an extremely high calibre and
the judges face a tough task to identify
winners in each of the categories.”
The overall short-list
is split into three separate categories
– Water Save, Water Solve and Water Shout,
recognising practical measures that save
water and money, smart solutions for water
use and campaigns that change the way people
use water.
Nominations for a fourth
category, The Chief Executive’s Award, which
commends outstanding overall achievements
in water efficiency, will be announced at
a later date.
All winners will be
announced at a ceremony on HMS President,
London on Wednesday 15th July.
+ More
Environment Agency issues
Saltend permit
The Environment Agency
has today (Wednesday 24 June) announced
its decision to issue an environmental permit
to Waste Recycling Group (WRG) for its proposed
non-hazardous waste incinerator at Saltend
in East Yorkshire.
In October last year
we received an application from Waste Recycling
Group (WRG) Limited for a permit for the
plant at Queen Elizabeth Dock, Hull. This
plant, also known as an energy from waste
facility, burns waste at high temperatures,
with the energy used to generate electricity.
The new permit will
set strict conditions governing the operation
of the incinerator, ensuring that public
health and the environment are properly
protected.
Simon Firth, Environment
Manager for the Environment Agency said:
“We have considered this application very
carefully, and we are satisfied that the
incinerator will not cause any significant
pollution providing it is operated in accordance
with our permit.
“We consulted widely
on WRG’s application in December 2008 and
April this year, and we have done everything
we can to ensure that everyone has had an
opportunity to comment. Over the various
consultation stages we have received over
50 written responses from members of the
public, and we have considered these alongside
comments from professional bodies such as
the Primary Care Trust and Health Protection
Agency.
“The issue of a permit
is only the first stage in our regulation
of the incinerator. When the facility is
up and running we will monitor its environment
performance, including emissions to air,
to ensure that the permit conditions are
not breached. We will continue to involve
the community where we can and will make
sure that the monitoring data is readily
available to the public.”
The permit and the decision
document that explains the permit conditions
and how the Environment Agency made its
decision are available to view at the public
registers which are held at:
• The Environment Agency, Phoenix House,
Global Avenue, Leeds, LS11 8PG
• Hull City Council, 33 Witham, Kingston
Upon Hull, HU9 1DB
For more information
on the Environment Agency’s role in regulating
incinerators, energy recovery or energy
from waste plants, visit: www.environment-agency.gov.uk/energyfromwaste
The Environment Agency
needs you - call for regional committee
members
The Environment Agency is looking for people
living in Kent, East and West Sussex, Hampshire
and the Isle of Wight who can help make
the local environment a better place for
people and wildlife.
The Environment Agency
is looking for people living in Kent, East
and West Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle
of Wight who can help make the local environment
a better place for people and wildlife.
Regional committee members
help shape and steer the Environment Agency’s
work and demonstrate real environmental
leadership amongst their peers and networks
and out in the community.
The Environment Agency
currently has a vacancy on its Regional
Flood Defence Committee, the committee responsible
for deciding on the Environment Agency’s
annual programme of flood defence improvement
and maintenance work.
Harvey Bradshaw, Regional
Director, said: “Our committees are vitally
important to our success. As guardian and
champion of the environment at a time of
great change, we’re looking for people who
are persuasive and able to influence change
and who are interested in how a changing
climate will affect our economy, landscape
and the communities and wildlife that live
there.”
Environment Agency members
act as ambassadors for both the environment
and the Environment Agency itself. They
represent a wide range of customer and stakeholder
groups, bringing knowledge and experience
to help inform Environment Agency decisions
and access to the varied audiences they
need to reach.
The committee meets
four times a year at the Environment Agency
regional office in Worthing. The positions
are non-salaried but members can claim travel
expenses and, in some cases, subsistence
and financial loss allowance. All candidates
must live or work in the Environment Agency’s
Southern region which covers Kent, East
and West Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle
of Wight. Applications from those who have
experience of working with those with disabilities
or diverse communities will be particularly
welcomed.
The closing date for applications is 20
July 2009 with appointees taking up their
posts in August 2009. Anyone looking to
make a real difference to their environment
can request an application pack from Sue
Lade, Committee Services - External Relations,
Environment Agency, Guildbourne House, Chatsworth
Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 1LD. For
an informal chat about the posts please
call Amanda Latham on 01903 832128.
