Water, Sewage & Effluent January February 2019 | Page 8

Actual savings
for industry in
water efficiency
The Industrial Water Efficiency (IWE)
Project completed its first year of
operations on a high by recording actual
water savings of 89 000kℓ (or m 3 ) from
its very first case study. These savings
translate to a cost saving of R2.2-million,
confirming positive rewards for an
industry that is willing to adopt water-
efficient processes and technologies.
One of South Africa’s large poultry
processing plants, RCL Rustenburg,
achieved significant savings in a single
year as a result of its participation in
the National Cleaner Production Centre
South Africa’s (NCPC-SA) established
IWE Project. The plant consumed over
one million kilolitres of water annually,
equating to approximately two per cent
of the total local municipal potable water
supply. Consequently, the plant initiated
a water assessment to determine how it
could reduce water usage and ease its
burden on the municipal supply.
The IWE Project conducted a detailed
water assessment and identified
a number of measures that were
implemented to counterbalance the
excessive water usage at the plant. The
results amounted to an annual saving of
89 607kℓ of water, equalling an annual
monetary saving of R2.2-million, and
a cost saving of approximately R1.78-
million for the company.
Seven assessments were completed
by the IWE Project during 2017–2018,
with a further nine under way. Some
assessments were delayed due to limited-
access quarantine measures being
imposed at the sites, triggered by the bird
flu and listeriosis outbreaks experienced
by the sector during this period. The
delayed assessments are currently under
way and scheduled for completion during
the 2018/19 financial year.
“A number of plants had to delay their
assessments because they were focused
RCL poultry processing plant in Rustenburg achieved significant water savings in a single
year as a result of its participation in the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa’s
(NCPC-SA) established IWE Project.
SAPPMA expands its brand into Africa
Over the past few years, the Southern
African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers
Association (SAPPMA) has been
expanding its influence beyond South
Africa’s borders and into neighbouring,
sub-Saharan African countries.
According to Jan Venter, CEO of
SAPPMA, both the association’s
8
name and logo are being recognised
as a guarantee of top-quality HDPE
and PVC pipes that are sold in
Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
The SAPPMA brand and mission are
being communicated into the rest of
Africa and the Middle East thanks to
Abu Dhabi-based NSF International,
Water Sewage & Effluent January/February 2019
on their survival in the marketplace,”
says Kevin Cilliers, the regional manager
for the NCPC-SA in KwaZulu-Natal and
national lead on the IWE Project.
Three previously assessed plants,
namely the Vineyard Hotel, First National
Battery, and the Oude Werf Hotel, also
implemented assessment findings aimed
at curtailing their respective plants’
water consumption.
Given South Africa’s water-scarce
status, the NCPC-SA launched the IWE
Project two years ago as a means of
influencing industry to reduce their
water consumption and better manage
their water usage. Since its inception,
the work done by the IWE Project has
grown to include six components all
aimed at influencing the adoption of
positive water management practices.
In line with the component to facilitate
change in policy, the NCPC-SA, through the
IWE Project, entered into a collaborative
partnership with the Department of Water
and Sanitation (DWS) and the Danish
Ministry for Environment and Food. The
partnership resulted in the NCPC-SA
conducting a review of the current South
African policy landscape. “The review
findings were useful input to the DWS’s
National Water Master Plan,” says Cilliers.
The IWE Project also successfully
reviewed the current global practices
around water management standards
and practices worldwide. The report
findings and recommendations will
serve as input to develop a standardised
approach and methodology as well as
relevant water skills training modules.
The tremendous success achieved
by the RNL Rustenburg plant is a true
testimony to the work done by the
NCPC-SA. Companies can apply for free
water assessments and assistance with
implementing water efficiency in their
plants at the NCPC-SA offices operated
across the country, with offices in Cape
Town, Durban, and Pretoria.
Source: National Cleaner Production
Centre (NCPC)
who provides independent, third-party
testing and certification of plastic
ingredients, materials, fittings, and
piping.
Operating in a global village
“The world has truly become a global
village. Borders and distances between
countries are no longer a barrier to
entry or to conducting business. For this
reason, it is imperative for the plastic
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