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Environmental
and Consumer Regulations
EGL operations are subject to various environmental
and consumer regulations under both Commonwealth and State
Legislation. The Directors are not aware of any breaches
of any particular and significant environmental or consumer
regulation affecting the Company’s operations.
Environmental
Management System
EGL is committed to achieving a high standard
of environmental performance and also participated in a number
of community based and business organisations committed to
providing positive environmental outcomes.
EGL operates under a formal Environmental
Management Plan which forms part of our Management System.
In our offices we recycle paper and other
products wherever possible and attempt to purchase Australian
made products with recycled content wherever appropriate
and cost competitive. Our Annual Report is printed on paper
containing 50% recycled content and 50% oxygen bleached pulp
from sustainable
plantation forests.
Our site based activities are usually controlled
by site specific Environmental Management Plans.
During the next year EGL will evaluate the
benefits of introducing an Environmental Management Plan
in accordance with the ISO14000 series standards.
| Waste
Minimisation and Reuse |
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The water/wastewater and air treatment solutions
offered by EGL all provide significant environmental benefits
to the communities in which we operate.
EGL also offers environmentally friendly
alternatives for disposal or reuse of the waste collected
by these installations, which are of increasing interest
to our customers. In many cases, waste collected is reused
as feedstock for the production process.
| Some recent examples include: |
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- a gypsum production system for a
metal processing plant where two waste products (the
sulphur rich off-gases and fine lime dust from an
adjecent cement plant) are combined to form gypsum.
This process reuses more than 10,000 tonnes of waste
material per annum;
- a wastewater treatment plant for
a major regional council where the 8 megalitres per
day (similar in volume to 160 backyard swimming pools)
of treated effluent is used to water a nearby golf
course and open space.
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The pressure sewer business replaces aging
septic systems which are major polluters of groundwater and
waterways throughout Australia. There are no waste products
generated directly by the use of these solutions.
Energy
Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
One of the important criteria in the design
of the environmental solutions we offer is the energy efficiency
of the plant or process. EGL strives to offer the most energy
efficient solution at all times, within the framework established
by our customers.
EGL is not a large user of electricity or
other forms of energy in our day to day operations. However,
energy efficiency is taken into account in all aspects of
our operations. Energy efficient lighting and appliances
are used in our offices. Lighting and air conditioning are
turned off when our offices are unattended. Modern fuel-efficient
vehicles are used in our service fleet.
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