Concern today about trade waste

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33541, 23 May 1974, Page 12

Concern today about trade waste

The era of uncontrolled discharges of waste into sewers and streams was fast coming to an end. as was the use of municipal tips and disused (marries, the Australian Institute of Metals conference was told yesterday.

Mr L. H. Esmore, of the Defence Standards Laboratories in Melbourne, who gave a paper on trade-waste treatment in the metal-fin-ishing industry, said that in the past the attitude to the disposal of waste had be<*n to "let sleeping dogs lie.” Everyone knew’ that toxic and harmful waste was being into sewers and natural watercourses but no-one wanted to do anything about the problem. PROTECTION AUTHORITY Today, there was a greater concern about trade waste, mainly because of overseas experiences, pubiicitv in the technical and dailv press, and from the actions ol local and Government authorities. said Mr Fsmore. In Victoria, an environment nroteetion authority, has been established with legal nowcrs to control dis charges into the atmosnhere rivers, 'akes. and marine waters The issue of licence; to discharge had forced com panies to consider their ob

ligations seriously, and press; reaction to detected mis-; demeanours resulted in adverse publicity. Water was becoming in- ' creasingly scarce in every industrialised and closely populated country, said Mr Esmore. Further, as living i standards improved, water use per head of population increased. Wasted water resulted in large effluent flows which required large and expensive waste-treatment plants. This involved a double cost — the purchase of the water and then the treatment and disposal after use. “Despite this, water use has received little study. In fact, in most commercial ; installations water use is several times that required for adequate rinsing using the best techniques," said Mr Esmore. Roth metal-finishing shops and their associated wastetreatment plants should be; (designed to cope with the; inevitable accidents.