Double award for
smelter
Hillside Aluminium’s
Rocklin Reed
receives the trophy
and gold certificate
from Sue
Benningfield of the
KZN Branch of the
Institute of Waste
Management of
Southern Africa,
accompanied by Dr
Timothy Fasheun of
the Department of
Agriculture and
Environmental
Affairs - sponsors
of the awards
Dave
Savides
BHP Billiton’s
Hillside Smelter has
scooped two top
prizes in the
biennial KZN Waste
Management Awards
competition.
Hillside became the
first Richards Bay
company to win such
an award, which is
sponsored by the
Department of
Agriculture and
Environmental
Affairs.
At a gala dinner in
uMhlanga, they took
gold in the General
Manufacturing and
Best New Entrant
categories.
Judges of the
General
Manufacturing
category noted that
the company had
instituted measures
to reduce the
impacts of their
operations on land,
sea and air by
optimising cleaner
production and
recycling
initiatives.
Proactive
They commended
Hillside Aluminium’s
proactive
environmental
management team for
addressing waste
issues on their
facility and within
the
lesser-privileged
communities.
Also highlighted was
the implementation
of a unique contract
with their waste
contractor to
promote recycling
and reuse
opportunities via
sharing of savings
realised.
The citation for the
Best New Entrant
category noted that
Hillside Aluminium
had shown the best
implementation of an
integrated waste
management policy
across the water,
land and air
environments.
This included
minimising water use
by utilising
recycled water for
ingot cooling, and
reducing stormwater
discharge by
supplying the water
to an adjacent
industry for process
purposes.
The plant had also
managed to halve
fluoride emissions
between 2000/2001
and 2006 and was
controlling SO2
emissions by
utilising low
sulphur coal.
Ms Ntombi Mkhwanazi,
the safety, health
and environment
administrator at
Tongaat-Hulett
Sugar’s Amatikulu
Mill, won the
individual merit
award.
